Biotech Values

[Biowatch]

"Coronavirus Outbreak Could Disrupt Drug Companies’ Clinical Trials"

https://www.barrons.com/articles/coronavirus-outbreak-could-disrupt-drug-companies-clinical-trials-51583529323

By Josh Nathan-Kazis
March 7, 2020

...Drug companies are running thousands of clinical trials in the U.S. and around the world at any one time. Most of those trials require test subjects to visit hospitals or clinics for regular dosing and follow-up appointments. In areas where Covid-19 is pressuring health-care services—or where patients worry that visiting a hospital could expose them to the virus—the worry is that patients may stop showing up.

In China, it’s already happening. On an earnings call in mid-February, Ari Bousbib, the CEO of Iqvia Holdings (ticker: IQV), which conducts trials for drug companies, said that in some parts of China, test subjects were already missing visits.

“The patients who are enrolled in a trial are simply not going to visit the hospitals,” Bousbib said. He noted that the company expected a $25 million impact to its revenue in the first quarter...

No drug companies expressed concern in statements to Barron’s. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) said it had seen no impact to its clinical trials at this time. Merck (MRK) said it did “not believe” that any of its “global studies are at risk.” Other companies offered boilerplate comments...

[The FDA] will likely be understanding...