Recon: Alexion to buy Portola for $1.4B; Pfizer, BioNTech begin clinical trial for coronavirus vaccine

• Alexion bets on Portola's bleeding antidote with $1.41 billion deal (Reuters) (Endpoints)
• Pfizer Begins Human Trials of Possible Coronavirus Vaccine (NYTimes) (Reuters)
• Antibiotic pipeline in peril from coronavirus and incentives system (Axios)
• Lawmakers question Jaguar Health on price hike of drug that may help treat COVID-19 patients (Reuters)
• Akebia’s experimental pill meets anemia, heart-safety goals in 2 late-stage trials (STAT) (Endpoints)
• Models Project Sharp Rise in Deaths as States Reopen (NYTimes) (Politico) (Reuters)
• Pharma startups forced to sit on their hands as clinical trials halt (Axios)
• Amgen Wins Ruling on Patents for Kyprolis Cancer Drug (Bloomberg)
• Teva And Celltrion Healthcare Announce Launch Of TRUXIMA Injection (Reuters) (Big Molecule Watch)

• World leaders pledge €7.4bn to research Covid-19 vaccine (The Guardian)
• Heartburn Pill in Short Supply After Word of Covid-19 Trial (Bloomberg)
• Exclusive: Bangladesh's Beximco to begin producing COVID-19 drug remdesivir – COO (Reuters)
• WHO says it will engage US to make remdesivir coronavirus treatment more widely available (CNBC)
• WHO cautions against untested COVID-19 traditional remedies (Reuters)
• This Drug May Cause Birth Defects. Japan’s Pushing It for Coronavirus. (NYTimes)
• Japan sending Fujifilm’s flu drug favipiravir to over 40 countries for Covid-19 trials (CNBC)
• Coronavirus lessons for the fight against ‘superbugs’ (Financial Times)
• Australia, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland Consortium regulators pledge support to tackle COVID-19 (TGA)

• U.S. starts study to find COVID-19 infection rate in children (Reuters)
• Neutralizing antibody; new virus details to aid vaccine research (Reuters) (Reuters)
• A Coronavirus Vaccine Project Takes a Page From Gene Therapy (NYTimes)
• How a 96-hour project helped Trump's team reverse its testing debacle (Politico)
• Coronavirus testing numbers are ticking up (Politico)
• Most COVID-19 patients get antibodies but immunity unclear: UK official (Reuters)
• Call to overhaul plasma rules to speed up potential virus therapy (Financial Times)
• HHS Waits for FDA OK as It Buys 10 Million ‘Reusable’ N95s (Bloomberg)
• With Crispr, a Possible Quick Test for the Coronavirus (NYTimes) (STAT)
• Were researchers wrong to move the goalposts on remdesivir? In the end, it may not have mattered (STAT)
• With new estimate, ICER sets terms of debate on pricing Gilead's COVID-19 drug (BioPharmaDive)
• 7 states team up to buy $5B in medical equipment, supplies for COVID-19 (MedtechDive)
• New Zealand records no new coronavirus cases for a second day (Reuters)
• UK overtakes Italy with Europe's highest official coronavirus death toll (Reuters)
• Italy's coronavirus death toll far higher than reported: stats office (Reuters)
• UK to recommend sweeping changes to workplaces after lockdown: report (Reuters)
• Hydroxychloroquine Update, May 4 (In The Pipeline)
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup May 4, 2020 (FDA)

• Orphan drugs improve health — but aren’t priced cost-effectively, study finds (STAT)
• BioMarin pens gene therapy pact with little-known Swiss biotech (Fierce)
• How biopharma companies can keep ‘feeding the beast’ in the time of coronavirus (STAT)
• CytoDyn CEO made $12M from his stock sale, and his explanation raises more questions (STAT)
• Dealmaking spiked to record levels in April as Covid-19 triggered a fever of partnering. But what happens to collaborations in a new world seen through Zoom? (Endpoints)
• Billions for biotech: Oberland boosts biotech fund-raising past the $5B mark in a matter of weeks (Endpoints)
• Battling low expectations and goliath rivals, Regeneron/Sanofi add positive Libtayo data in pursuit of blockbuster status (Endpoints)
• Praxis Precision Medicines launches with $100M and bold sights on long-evasive neurological disorders (Endpoints)
• Two years after U2 disappointment, TG Therapeutics wins back investors with PFS win — setting the stage for NDA (Endpoints)
• Adverum soars on early gene therapy data; BerGenBio raises €45.4M on the heels of Covid-19 move (Endpoints)
• A UCSD center that's been facilitating Covid-19 clinical research gets $55M from NIH to boost translational work (Endpoints)

• Oncology systems maker Varian ekes out sales gain amid procedure delays (MedtechDive)
• Respiratory muscle stimulator greenlighted by FDA for COVID-19 patients (MedtechDive)

• US Supreme Court hears case on overseas anti-AIDS funding restrictions (Reuters)
• J&J settles with West Virginia over allegations on mesh, hips (MedtechDive)
• Good Pharmacovigilance Practice Symposium 2020 (MHRA)
• Coronavirus: new website for reporting medicines side-effects and equipment incidents (MHRA)
• Specification for Rapidly Manufactured CPAP System to be used during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak (MHRA)
• 3M Wins Its First NY Injunction Over COVID-19 Price-Gouging (Law360)
• Gov't Tells Justices Retroactive IPRs Aren't Theft (Law360)
• USPTO Unveils Virus Patent Platform, EPO Extends Deadlines (Law360)
• Pricing in the Time of Price Gouging: Trying to Find a Safe Harbor (FDA Law Blog)