Roche is open to considering tie-ups with the Medicines Patent Pool or other voluntary patent pools to assess partners for Actemra, as part of efforts to broaden access to the immunotherapy for COVID-19. With a patent non-assert declaration on tocilizumab already in place, activists say the geographic scope of patent licenses will need to be broadened to have any real impact.

Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine has been cleared in India for restricted emergency use, with expectations building for a go-ahead for Pfizer/BioNTech’s jab too, though it will be important to see how the country deals with the contentious issue of indemnity to vaccine makers.

In this week's podcast edition of Scrip's Five Must-Know Things: new developments in the TIGIT field; doctor frustration over Aduhelm guidance; are pediatric COVID vaccines necessary: the battle of the SERDs; and one Indian firm’s plans for lung disease leadership.