There may be a new hope in the desperate race to find a treatment for coronavirus and it couldn't come soon enough. President Trump says he is slashing red tape ordering the FDA to fast track the use of two drugs for sick patients.
1 | CUREVAC
German pharmaceutical company CureVac insists it did not receive any offer from U.S. President Donald Trump to secure exclusive rights to a potential coronavirus vaccine, despite the German government and the company's main investor saying it did.
CureVac deputy CEO Franz-Werner Haas said “there was and is no offer" from Trump "or any governmental organizations" to take over the company or "to have manufacturing slots reserved" for exclusive vaccine production for the U.S. market.
There are open questions about CureVac's leadership. CEO Daniel Menichella, a U.S. citizen, had to abruptly leave the company after he participated earlier this month in a White House meeting where Trump reportedly approached him with his offer.
2 | Hydroxychloroquine
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, two medicines currently authorised for malaria and certain autoimmune diseases, are being investigated worldwide for their potential to treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, efficacy in treating COVID-19 is yet to be shown in studies.
It is very important that patients and healthcare professionals only use chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for their authorised uses or as part of clinical trials or national emergency use programmes for the treatment of COVID-19.