Good Day BIO: This could be the first oral COVID therapeutic

The U.S. Trade Representative made a major policy speech yesterday on the administration’s approach to China—we tell you what biotech needs to know. Also, a recent report looks at COVID-19’s impact on older Hispanic adults and provides policy recs for addressing disparities. (777 words, 3 minutes, 53 seconds)

The BIO IMPACT Webinar Series begins today with a look at sustainability accounting—get the details and join us at 1 PM ET!

The U.S. reached another grim COVID-19 milestone—but a new oral antiviral, developed thanks to the Bayh-Dole Act, could be a solution for unavoidable infections.

Over the weekend, the U.S. passed 700,000 deaths from the coronavirus. The “overwhelming majority” of Americans who died in recent months were unvaccinated, says The New York Times.

But an oral pill developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics cuts the risk of hospitalization or death by half, Merck said in a statement.   

If approved, it would be the first oral antiviral to fight COVID-19. Merck plans to seek FDA emergency use authorization “as soon as possible.”   

It’s an example of why the Bayh-Dole Act matters more than ever. The antiviral was initially discovered by a biotechnology company owned by Emory University. Ridgeback licensed the discovery, then partnered with Merck to develop it—watch this discussion with Ridgeback CEO Wendy Commins Holman.

Read: Happy 40th, Bayh-Dole! 

It’s not the only therapeutic in the works. SAB Biotherapeutics is moving its groundbreaking antibody treatment to phase 3 trials after getting good safety and efficacy data in the phase 2 trial.

Read: “Herd” immunity

Therapeutics are an important tool to fight unavoidable infections—but they’re not a replacement for the vaccines, which remain extremely safe and effective.

And another vaccine could soon be on the way: Novavax recently applied for WHO emergency use listing of its vaccine, which would allow it to begin shipping doses to countries in need. The Novavax vaccine has shown extremely high efficacy, as well.

The bottom line: COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon—which is why we need to continue to support America’s drug innovation ecosystem and ensure biotechs large and small can continue developing the medicines we need, for COVID-19 and many other diseases. This is also why we need to ensure proposed drug price controls do not get in the way—learn more and tell your Member of Congress how price controls would harm patients and cures.

More Health Care News:

Biopharma Dive: 5 FDA approval decisions to watch in the fourth quarter

In addition to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, “[a] new cell therapy for multiple myeloma, for instance, could be the latest treatment for a disease that's seen an array of drugs emerge over the past decade. The first medicine for dwarfism could be on its way, as well as a potentially valuable treatment option for a form of depression.”

About 40% of food produced globally is wasted, due to factors ranging from disease and drought to imperfections causing food to go uneaten. But gene editing can help us reduce waste and make food more resilient—if policy allows us to deploy it.

Scientists “hope that the technology can help develop next-generation crops that are more resistant to pests and diseases, sustain less damage during transportation and storage, or have a longer shelf life—essentially quasi-imperishable produce,” explains Wired.

As two examples: Idaho-based Simplot is using CRISPR to develop potatoes resistant to browning and bruising—thereby reducing waste in the supply chain—while scientists are researching how to make the banana resistant to deadly fungal disease.

Gene editing can also create “hardier” breeds of food animals “resistant to disease, droughts, and heatwaves,” one researcher told The Guardian. “This is particularly important as global warming intensifies and we strive to ensure we are protected against future outbreaks of zoonotic diseases.”

Pigs face a growing risk of deadly swine flu—but gene editing could make them resistant, protecting an important source of protein for the world and revenue for farmers while reducing animal suffering.

“But merely having invented the technology is not enough,” wrote BIO’s Dr. Michelle in Newsweek. “We also need to make sure the products of groundbreaking biotech are accessible around the world. At the moment, they're not—in large part, due to trade barriers imposed not by adversaries, but by some of our closest trading partners.”

She explains what needs to change—especially with U.S. trade policy towards Mexico. Read her whole op-ed and more background on what’s going on with Mexico.

President Biden’s Tuesday: Meeting virtually with House Democrats this morning to discuss infrastructure and budget reconciliation. Then, heading to Howell, MI, to give remarks on his infrastructure plan at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 training facility. In other news, Dr. Francis Collins is stepping down as NIH director.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The work on infrastructure and reconciliation continues, as “Democrats start bargaining” to save the social spending package, reports POLITICO.