Amgen reported better results for first quarter and said that they are investigating their psoriasis drug, Otezla as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
The Company announced that Otezla, an oral treatment approved in more than 50 countries for inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, will be investigated as a potential immunomodulatory treatment in adult patients with COVID-19 in upcoming platform trials.
In April, Amgen was collaborated with Adaptive Biotechnologies to discover and develop fully human neutralizing antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 to potentially prevent or treat COVID-19.
Study start-up activities are continuing where possible to allow rapid site activation and enrollment when that becomes feasible. Study procedures are being implemented consistent with recent guidance from regulators to maintain patient safety and study data integrity. Enrollment is paused in clinical trials where there is uncertainty around the ability of sites to ensure subject safety or data integrity.
Research activities are increasing in various geographies as the situation safely permits. Medical conferences and journals are being engaged to ensure continued dissemination of important data in a timely manner.
Otezla was acquired by Amgen from Celgene on November 2019 and generated $479 million of sales in the first quarter of 2020.
