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More than two dozen generic-drug manufacturers have agreed to produce low-cost versions of Merck & Co.’s Covid-19 pill, a key step in bringing virus-fighting tools to lower-income countries that have struggled to get vaccines. Companies in Bangladesh, China, India, Kenya, South Africa, Vietnam and other countries signed pacts to supply more than 100 low- and middle-income nations, the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool said Thursday. (Paton, 1/20)

A randomized control trial published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) shows that the antiviral drug remdesivir reduces the use of mechanical ventilation by almost half for patients hospitalized with COVID-19. (1/19)

In the first few weeks of the pandemic, when physicians were grappling with the unknown like everyone else, psychiatrist Angela Reiersen recalled that an old drug in her field, called fluvoxamine, affected the body in ways that went beyond improving mental health. In addition to easing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, the drug also reduced inflammation, which was emerging as a key culprit in severe cases of COVID-19. She emailed Eric Lenze. a colleague at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and proposed testing the drug to see if it might help. (Avril, 1/20)

An Indiana lawmaker has proposed a bill that would open the door for the use of a controversial medicine to prevent and treat cases of COVID-19. Under House Bill 1372, a doctor or advanced practice registered nurse could write a standing order for ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, that would allow pharmacists to dispense the drug. The legislation also stipulates that the pharmacist must not provide information that discourages using ivermectin to treat COVID-19. (Rudavsky, 1/20)