Drug giants to restart medicine trials unrelated to Covid

Drug companies ready to restart clinical trials of medicines for life-threatening conditions unrelated to coronavirus

British drug companies are ready to restart clinical trials of medicines for life-threatening conditions unrelated to coronavirus. 

Haseeb Ahmad – boss of the UK arm of Swiss drugs giant Novartis and president of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry – told The Mail on Sunday that firms are discussing resurrecting trials after a year in which efforts were focused on battling the virus. 

Battle: Novartis is entering the final stages of clinical trials of a potential new Covid treatment

He said: ‘Other clinical trials came to a bit of a pause and they need to be restarted. 

‘We’re investigating medicines [for conditions other than Covid] where there is a high rate of mortality – there is a high level of urgency to restart those trials.’ 

Novartis is entering the final stages of clinical trials of a potential new Covid treatment. 

A study of 432 patients globally, including in the UK, is evaluating a repurposed cancer drug which may prevent severe respiratory problems. 

The results are expected within a few months. 

Another Novartis study of a potential Covid treatment failed to progress from trials last month.