Recon: Pfizer, BioNTech begin pivotal COVID-19 vaccine trial; Drugmakers skip out on White House meeting

• Drugmakers refuse to attend White House meeting after Trump issues executive orders on costs (Politico) (Reuters)
• Moderna, Pfizer start decisive COVID-19 vaccine trials, eye year-end launches (Reuters) (NYTimes)
• Pfizer-BioNTech begin late-stage study of lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate (Reuters) (STAT) (Endpoints) (Press)
• Pfizer shares rise after better-than-expected earnings and higher 2020 outlook (CNBC) (Press)
• Coronavirus Stimulus: How the Republican and Democratic Plans Compare (WSJ)
• Covid-19 relief package likely to include billions more for vaccines, testing (STAT)
• Trump alleges pharmaceutical industry is running false ads on his drug price plan (Reuters)
• Kodak Shifts Into Drug Production With Help of a $765 Million U.S. Loan (WSJ)
• Japan's Fujifilm gets $265 million U.S. contract to boost output of potential virus vaccine (Reuters)

• Vaccine alliance eyes range of prices for COVID shots, says $40 would be maximum (Reuters)
• Pfizer will not charge developed countries less than US for similar vaccine order (Reuters)
• Canada gives conditional approval to Gilead's remdesivir for COVID-19 (Reuters)
• After early hype, Japan's homegrown COVID-19 drug hope Avigan faces rocky future (Reuters)
• EMA Wants Panexcell-Tested Generics Suspended; Spares Yondelis (Pink Sheet)

• WHO says COVID-19 pandemic is 'one big wave', not seasonal (Reuters)
• Masks May Reduce Viral Dose, Some Experts Say (NYTimes)
• The Doctor Behind the Disputed Covid Data (NYTimes)
• Vaccines are 'one of the safest interventions we have,' thanks to ongoing FDA monitoring (NBCI thi)
• Humanigen momentum barges on as Covid-19 candidate is selected for NIAID trial (Endpoints)
• Serum Institute conducting phase III clinical trial of tuberculosis vaccine: DBT (Economic Times)
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup July 27, 2020 (FDA)
• Pfizer could earn $15B-plus in COVID-19 vaccine sales: analyst (Fierce)

• New York panel seeks extra Medicaid rebates from Biogen for pricey rare disease drug (STAT)
• After stopping Farxiga trial early, AstraZeneca declares success in CKD treatment (Endpoints) (Fierce)
• Praxis raises $110 million to target CNS disease with Phase II drugs (Endpoints)
• After down year, 2020 brings new cash into Massachusetts biotech (Endpoints)
• mRNA vaccines: intellectual property landscape (Nature)
• EU’s Joint Regulatory/HTA System Praised, But Improvements Needed (Pink Sheet)
• US FDA Expediting ANDA Postapproval Manufacturing Changes Due To COVID-19 Impacts (Pink Sheet)
• Early API Momentum At Indian Firms: Not Just A Quarterly Bump? (Scrip)
• PRIME status for Adaptimmune's synovial sarcoma drug (PharmaTimes)
• AbbVie helps autoimmune startup Enthera to €28M A round (Fierce)
• Distanced from a pricing controversy, Jeff Aronin steers one of his biotechs to Nasdaq — with a familiar regulatory strategy tied to a big bet (Endpoints)
• AbbVie backs an Italian startup focused on autoimmune diseases; BioTheryX advances AML drug with $35M D round (Endpoints)
• A protein engineering platform spawns a new IL-2 player out of Basel, with human trials looming next summer (Endpoints)

• Diagnostics makers must plan for EUA products to have post-pandemic future (MedtechDive)
• Unprecedented Number Of EU Medtech Guidance Documents Now Available On New Commission Website (MedtechInsight)
• 3M dips on missed Q2 projections (MassDevice)

• Gilead Slams HHS' 'Perverse' Requests In HIV Drug IP Battle (Law360)
• FTC, AbbVie Don't Want Spat Paused Amid Justices' Review (Law360)
• U.S. judge rejects imposing attorney fee levy on opioid lawsuit settlements (Reuters)