Merck buys the rights to an experimental Ebola vaccine

Deal comes as other drugmakers are racing to test and scale up production of treatments and preventive vaccines. Merck on Monday said it would buy worldwide commercial rights to NewLink Genetics Corp’s experimental vaccine meant to prevent infection with the Ebola virus. Large late-stage trials of the product could begin early next year, Merck said… (read more)

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Senate panel passes measure to speed up approval of Ebola drugs

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved a measure Wednesday designed to speed the approval of Ebola drugs. The bill (S. 2917) would make Ebola treatments eligible for priority review vouchers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), cutting down on the evaluation time taken by regulators. “As the U.S. continues to respond to Ebola, it is critical that we are doing all we can to get life-saving treatments...

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