From the latest COVID-19 advances to the emergence of a game changer for heart failure, Scrip’s editor in chief Eleanor Malone reviews the big stories of the past three months. Safety issues around JAK inhibitors and AAV vector-based gene therapy were also to the fore, while biopharma financing continued apace.

Philip Morris once again pledged to up R&D in Vectura after its £1.1bn takeover offer for the UK-based inhalation specialist became unconditional, following the tobacco giant’s acrimonious face-off with private equity Carlyle earlier this year.

BD has EUA for Veritor At-Home COVID-19 rapid antigen test using smartphone vision technology to interpret and digitally display results. Researchers at biotech firms and medical schools measure advantages of at-home use of rapid antigen tests over quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction tests.

The board members of Vectura, a manufacturer of inhalers and inhaled drugs, have approved a $1.4bn takeover bid by Philip Morris International, the manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes.