CD388 is looking effective against all strains of influenza. . . and can be sold year in and year out, to all who catch a more than moderate flu bug. So this is a smart use of about $10 billion (after rationalizing the production facilities, at scale). [The commentary in some quarters that Merck needs it -- due to a patent cliff for pembrolizumab. . . is ill-informed. Merck will use the injectible version as a hop -- and will see exclusivity into the mid-2030s. Mark my words.]
In any event, here's the story, from CNBC, this am:
. . .Cidara’s experimental long-acting antiviral drug CD388 is not a vaccine and is expected to be efficacious in individuals regardless of immune status. It has the potential to be a single-dose, universal prevention against all flu strains. . . .
It aims to protect those at higher risk of flu, with the potential to provide season-long protection.
“While this deal is somewhat complementary, it is not perfectly ‘plug and play’ with the rest of the Merck portfolio,” said Bernstein analyst Courtney Breen, calling Cidara “essentially a single asset story. . . .”
Errata: it seems I was going too fast this morning, in search of a laugh. The comet that broke apart is technically NOT the one Avi Loeb claims is "intelligently designed". But my point -- and joke -- both remain unsullied: that is a dirty snow ball, not a faster than light transport. So. . . it traveled for perhaps billions of years. . . and did. . . nothing? Seems less than likely. Onward, just the same.
नमस्ते
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