The year began with an unusually low number of CRLs, but a recent burst of non-approval actions suggests a COVID-19 effect.

AstraZeneca will take Redx's RXC006 into clinical development, targeting fibrotic diseases, giving valuable credibility to the biotech’s Wnt pathway hypothesis. 

Weeks after lifting of an FDA clinical hold, CymaBay says it will resume development of its PPAR agonist in primary biliary cholangitis. It will initiate a new Phase III trial but also use data from a terminated Phase III study.

The UK BioIndustry Association has welcomed the government’s fresh investment in COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity, while Sanofi and GSK are striking European and US deals for their vaccine candidate. A number of potential therapies are also being developed, including products based on interferon and hyperimmune globulin, but Roche/Chugai’s Actemra (tocilizumab) looks like a non-runner.