Several big pharmaceutical companies have joined forces with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to scale up solutions and support health systems in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/jdp
العربية
ar
نوفارتيس تنشط كطرف في تحالف جديد لمكافحة الفيروس المستجد
On Thursday, Basel-based pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced that CEO Vas Narasimhan would be the co-chair of a consortium of life science companies to speed up the development and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments for Covid-19 as well as other solutions.
“We feel a deep shared responsibility to see if there are specific areas where collaboration across the life sciences industry and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation can accelerate solutions to this pandemic,” said Narasimhan in a statementExternal link.
More
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
This content was published on
An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
The consortium is intended to help ramp up solutions and tap the industry’s scientific knowledge and experience in delivering products at a scale of billions per day.
As a first step, the 15 companies that are part of the consortium have agreed to share their proprietary libraries of molecular compounds with the Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator launched by the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard two weeks ago. The accelerator will screen them for potential use against Covid-19 and if there are successful hits, the compounds would move rapidly into in vivo trials in as little as two months.
Other companies that have teamed up in the consortium include GSK, Pfizer and Gilead. Gilead’s drug Remdesivir is an intravenous, antiviral medicine that is being studied in clinical trials as a treatment to Covid-19.
Last week, Novartis announced it was donating up to 130 million doses of generic hydroxychloroquine, which along with a related drug, chloroquine, is currently under evaluation in clinical trials for the treatment of Covid-19.
The company has also created a Covid-19 Response FundExternal link providing $20 million (CHF 19 million) in grants to support public health initiatives for communities affected by the pandemic.
Novartis is one of several big pharmaceutical companies that has moved out of the emerging infectious disease business. In 2014, the Swiss company sold its vaccine business to British pharma company GSK after operating at a loss for years. The company no longer has critical mass of expertise in virology, and no laboratories are working on antivirals or diagnostics.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
More
More
With no prospects for profits, big pharma neglects new infectious diseases
This content was published on
More companies are shifting resources away from emerging infectious diseases into more lucrative areas like cancer. What does this mean for Covid-19?
Swiss price watchdog slams excessive prices for generic medicines
This content was published on
The cheapest generic medicines available in Switzerland are more than twice as expensive as in other countries, according to a study by the Swiss price watchdog.
Nature should not figure in net zero calculations: academic study
This content was published on
The natural removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by forests or oceans should not be included in the net-zero balance of climate protection measures, argue researchers.
This content was published on
None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.
This content was published on
Nestlé's new CEO Laurent Freixe, has presented plans for the future of the world's largest food company, after his first few weeks in office.
Swiss foreign minister calls on Moscow to end Ukraine war
This content was published on
It's high time Moscow ended its war against Ukraine, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis tells the UN Security Council.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss pharma giants swallow up start-ups in push for next big gene therapy
This content was published on
Swiss drug makers are increasingly relying on buying science rather than doing it themselves in the search for the next big medical breakthrough.
Swiss restrict exports of protective equipment as coronavirus hits
This content was published on
Switzerland has introduced temporary restrictions on the export of protective equipment to head off shortages among medical staff and others.
This content was published on
US authorities have approved a $2.1 million gene therapy, making it the most expensive drug ever. Can such a price tag be justified?
This content was published on
As money is poured into the search for a silver bullet to Covid-19, some experts warn that the pandemic could also worsen the antibiotics crisis.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.