Pharmafile.com's weekly COVID-19 news round-up

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Hydroxychloroquine continues to feature in coronavirus news. Rick Bright, the Director of BARDA, alleges he was pushed out of his position due to his pushback to the administration focusing on the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients. This came after the National Institutes of Health said coronavirus patients should not take the drug due to potential “toxicities.”

Researchers have also been investigating the heartburn drug Pepcid, as a potential treatment, while the FDA has granted emergency clearance for the first in-home testing kit.

1. BARDA director abruptly leaves post, claims he was ousted over pushback to hydroxychloroquine – Published 23/04/20

Rick Bright has claimed that he has been forced out of his position as the Director of the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency.

2. National Institutes of Health says COVID-19 patients should not take hydroxychloroquine – Published 22/04/20

Experts at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) have drafted treatment guidelines for the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients, saying it should not be used due to “potential toxicities.”

3. Researchers studying heartburn drug as potential coronavirus treatment – Published 27/04/20

Researchers in America have been studying famotidine, the active ingredient in Pepcid, as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

4. First in-home COVID-19 testing kit approved by the FDA – Published 22/04/20

The US Food and Drug Administration have granted emergency clearance to the first in-home COVID-19 testing kit.

5. Socially disruptive measures will exist in Britain until at least the end of the year – Published 23/04/20

England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty has said that the UK will have to live with some form of socially disruptive measures for at least the rest of the year.

Conor Kavanagh