Recon: Gilead jumps on early remdesivir reports; Moderna wins $483M BARDA contract for COVID-19 vaccine

• FDA may have dropped standards too far in hunt for chloroquine to fight coronavirus (Reuters)
• Early peek at data on Gilead coronavirus drug suggests patients are responding to treatment (STAT) (Reuters) (In The Pipeline) (Financial Times)
• Moderna receives $483M BARDA award for COVID-19 vaccine (Reuters) (Financial Times)
• Institutional Investors Tell Big Pharma to Cooperate on Coronavirus (Reuters) (STAT)
• What's in Trump's three-phase reopening plan (Politico)
• Trump defends drop in commercial lab testing amid push to reopen US (Politico)
• US intel community examining whether coronavirus emerged accidentally from a Chinese lab (NBC)
• Lawmakers prep drug pricing wishlist for next relief package (Politico)

• If Sanofi’s coronavirus vaccine works, CEO says it can produce up to 600M doses next year (CNBC)
• UK scientists to make a million potential COVID-19 vaccines before proof (Reuters)
• Oxford set to start first UK coronavirus vaccine trial (Financial Times)
• EU urges the World Health Assembly to pursue a voluntary pool for Covid-19 products (STAT)
• China says nearly 1,300 virus deaths not counted in Wuhan, cites early lapses (Reuters)
• Africa may see millions of coronavirus cases, tentative WHO forecast shows (Reuters)
• At least 300,000 Africans expected to die in pandemic: UN agency (Reuters)
• Congo records five new Ebola cases, shelves declaration of end to epidemic (Reuters)
• EMA review of Picato concludes medicine’s risks outweigh its benefits (EMA)
• Meeting highlights from ICMRA global regulatory workshop on COVID-19 observational studies and real world data (EMA)

• Influential Covid-19 model uses flawed methods and shouldn’t guide US policies, critics say (STAT)
• How the Anti-Vaccine Community Is Responding to Covid-19 (Undark)
• Switzerland's Roche joins global race to make coronavirus antibody tests (Reuters) (Press)
• STD antibiotic faces shortages after Trump promotes it as coronavirus treatment (The Hill)
• Trump Calls This Drug a ‘Game Changer.’ Doctors Aren’t So Sure. (NYTimes)
• France says no evidence COVID-19 linked to Wuhan research lab (Reuters)
• Asthma Is Absent Among Top Covid-19 Risk Factors, Early Data Shows (NYTimes)
• Obesity Linked to Severe Coronavirus Disease, Especially for Younger Patients (NYTimes)
• Coronavirus clue? Most cases aboard U.S. aircraft carrier are symptom-free (Reuters)
• Unapproved Chinese coronavirus antibody tests being used in at least 2 states (NBC)
• U.S. officials run into dead ends in rush to find masks amid pandemic (Reuters)
• Disposable N95 Masks Can Be Decontaminated, Researchers Confirm (NYTimes)
• More Small Molecule Clinical Data Against Covid-19, As of April 16 (In The Pipeline)
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup April 16, 2020 (FDA)
• Rapid coronavirus test, commonly used in U.S., may miss infections in some situations (STAT)
• To speed coronavirus testing, FDA greenlights a new type of nasal swab (STAT) (Reuters)
• France's coronavirus death toll nears 18,000, but some good omens (Reuters)
• Japan Declares Nationwide State Of Emergency As Coronavirus Spreads (NPR)
• Moscow has more coronavirus cases than state testing shows, private lab data suggest (Reuters)
• Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 3,380 to 133,830: RKI (Reuters)
• Doctors Press F.D.A. to Let More Gay Men Donate Blood (NYTimes)
• US FDA Sets Convalescent Plasma Access Recommendations For Coronavirus Patients (Pink Sheet)

• With Federal Nod, Consumers Could Lose The Boost They Get From Drug ‘Coupons’ (KHN)
• Value Creation And Destruction: Dispersion of Performance In Biotech IPOs (LifeSciVC)
• Negative Cancer Trials Often Get Positive Spin at Meetings (Medpage)
• AstraZeneca CEO Faces Shareholder Backlash on Pay (Bloomberg)
• New study seeks to surface data to produce a stronger measles vaccine (STAT)
• Novartis, Amgen tout Aimovig's benefits with real-world and long-term data (Fierce)
• Biosimilar Sponsors Push US FDA To Speed Up Supplement Reviews (Pink Sheet)
• Dorothee Kern’s path from basketball star to founder of billion-dollar biotech(s?); Five Prime Therapeutics hands the reins to Genentech vet (Endpoints)
• Industry shows increased appetite for macrophage biology (Nature)
• Lantern Pharma charts course for IPO with AI platform that shines light on failed cancer drugs (Endpoints)
• Chinese antibody maker, famed for Ebola cocktail, notches $160M as it focuses on cancer, autoimmune drugs (Endpoints)
• Antibiotic treatment for COVID-19 complications could fuel resistant bacteria (ScienceMag)
• Giant viruses aren’t alive. So why have they stolen genes essential for life? (ScieneMag)
• Govt lifts curbs on exports of formulations made from Paracetamol (Economic Times)

• Congress Is Investigating Whether a Ventilator Company Is Gouging the U.S. — and Why the Government Is Letting It Happen (ProPublica)
• As Ventilators Become Crucial In Saving Lives, Repair Roadblocks Remain (KHN)
• CRISPR And Spit Might Be Keys To Faster, Cheaper, Easier Tests For The Coronavirus (NPR)
• GE, Ford sign $336 million federal contract to make ventilators for coronavirus outbreak (CNBC)
• BioMérieux Reports 22 Percent Q1 Revenue Growth, Withdraws Full-Year Guidance (360dx)
• Developing Antibody Tests Is Technically The Biggest COVID-19 Challenge Yet (MedtechInsight)

• Where Now For Italy’s Drug Price Transparency Crusade? (Pink Sheet)
• Focusing On The Bigger Picture At The EMA (Pink Sheet)
• Reopening the Country During COVID-19: Legal and Policy Issues (Harvard Bill of Health)
• Novartis Must Face Retaliation Suit Over Kickback Scheme (Law360)
• AbbVie Execs Want Out Of Humira Kickbacks Suit (Law360)
• Ventilators and other devices intended for respiratory support for COVID-19 (TGA)
• Regulation of thermometers for COVID-19 (TGA)
• Reuse of face masks and gowns during the COVID-19 pandemic (TGA)
• Consultation: Proposed amendments to the Poisons Standard - ACMS and Joint ACMS/ACCS meetings, June 2020 (TGA)