Iran

Bavarian Nordic is testing the potential of its ABNCoV2 vaccine as a booster dose for people with previous infection or vaccination. Brazil has received requests from Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca to trial vaccines as booster doses, and has asked for more immunogenicity data on SinoVac’s CoronaVac.

The exemptions allow for face masks, diagnostics and oxygen tanks, among others, to be shipped to Iran, Syria and Venezuela without specific permission.

China, Iran and especially Russia have launched campaigns aimed at undermining confidence in Western vaccines, especially Pfizer’s, according to two reports.

CinnaGen has revealed clinical trial results suggesting that its ReciGen interferon beta-1a product in combination with concomitant antiviral therapy can be “a new safe and effective” treatment option for COVID-19 patients, “critical for the expected second wave of the pandemic.”

Iranian researchers found using 500 mg curcumin complex daily for seven days reduced levels of leptin, which can promote inflammatory response, in patients with traumatic brain injury. In study published in Phytotherapy Research, 28 subjects had an overall 47.1% reduction in leptin.

Iranian player AryoGen has received a boost after a recent study revealed that the firm’s bevacizumab biosimilar was non-inferior to reference product Avastin terms of efficacy and tolerability.

Fixed-dose polypills containing commonly available generic cardiovascular agents could cut risks in low-income populations within the US, a randomized clinical trial suggests.

Data presented in The Lancet medical journal suggests a polypill fixed-dose combination of aspirin, atorvastatin and hydrochlorothiazide with either enalapril or valsartan could reduce the risk of cardiovascular events significantly. 

Mexico, Turkey and Iran will start participating in the international Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme as of January 2018. Meanwhile, Russia has become the latest country to apply to join the scheme.

Cipla has firmed up a joint venture in Iran – a market where it hopes to maintain leadership position despite some tension surrounding the nuclear deal between the P5+1 global powers and the Middle Eastern nation.

The European Medicines Agency has issued a draft guideline for companies wanting to develop biosimilar versions of interferon beta for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. As with all biosimilars, there will be a number of challenges for developers of interferon beta, not least the complexity of the disease and the substance, safety issues, and differences among the available reference products.

The proliferation of counterfeit medicines in the regulated supply chain is thankfully being addressed by stringent measures across the EU. The two-dimensional barcode, introduced by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations is one successful measure that is employed in fighting the emergence of these products. However, efforts to secure the unregulated supply chain – and particularly the internet – are not quite as efficacious.