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GSK Halts 3 Trials of Respiratory Virus Vaccine in Pregnant Women

GSK logo is displayed in this illustration taken January 17, 2022. (Reuters)
GSK logo is displayed in this illustration taken January 17, 2022. (Reuters)
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GSK Halts 3 Trials of Respiratory Virus Vaccine in Pregnant Women

GSK logo is displayed in this illustration taken January 17, 2022. (Reuters)
GSK logo is displayed in this illustration taken January 17, 2022. (Reuters)

Britain's GSK said on Monday it had halted enrollment and vaccination in three trials of its experimental vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in pregnant women, the latest setback in developing a vaccine for the microbe.

GSK said on Feb. 18 that it had paused a late-stage trial, dubbed "GRACE," as well as two other studies, based on safety recommendations from an independent committee but did not give further details on what had prompted the recommendations.

RSV is a leading cause of pneumonia in toddlers and the elderly, but vaccine development has been plagued by setbacks for decades. However, many drugmakers are now working to bring a candidate to the market over the next few years.

GSK, the world's biggest vaccine maker by sales, reiterated on Monday that the halts did not affect another trial of its RSV vaccine candidate for adults aged 60 and over, adding that analysis of the safety data from the maternal trials is ongoing.

RSV vaccines are seen as an opportunity for GSK to deliver on pledges to boost its drug development success rate, where it has long lagged industry peers. GSK's shot for pregnant women was aimed at conferring immunity to protect unborn children.

Its vaccine for the elderly, another major vulnerable population, has been regarded by analysts as a potential big RSV market, with trial results expected in the first half this year.

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China Marks Muted 5th Anniversary of First Covid Death

This photo taken on February 18, 2020 shows medical personnel walking among patients with mild symptoms of the Covid-19 coronavirus resting at night in the temporary Hospital set up in a sports stadium in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province. (AFP)
This photo taken on February 18, 2020 shows medical personnel walking among patients with mild symptoms of the Covid-19 coronavirus resting at night in the temporary Hospital set up in a sports stadium in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province. (AFP)
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China Marks Muted 5th Anniversary of First Covid Death

This photo taken on February 18, 2020 shows medical personnel walking among patients with mild symptoms of the Covid-19 coronavirus resting at night in the temporary Hospital set up in a sports stadium in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province. (AFP)
This photo taken on February 18, 2020 shows medical personnel walking among patients with mild symptoms of the Covid-19 coronavirus resting at night in the temporary Hospital set up in a sports stadium in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province. (AFP)

The fifth anniversary of the first known death from Covid-19 passed seemingly unnoticed in China Saturday, with no official remembrances in a country where the pandemic is a taboo subject.

On January 11, 2020, health officials in the central Chinese city of Wuhan announced that a 61-year-old man had died from complications of pneumonia caused by a previously unknown virus.

The disclosure came after authorities had reported dozens of infections over several weeks by the pathogen later named SARS-CoV-2 and understood as the cause of Covid-19.

It went on to spark a global pandemic that has so far killed over seven million people and profoundly altered ways of life around the world, including in China.

On Saturday, however, there appeared to be no official memorials in Beijing's tightly controlled official media.

The ruling Communist Party kept a tight leash on public discussion throughout its zero-Covid policy, and has eschewed reflections on the hardline curbs since dramatically ditching them at the end of 2022.

On social media, too, many users seemed unaware of the anniversary.

A few videos circulating on Douyin -- the Chinese version of TikTok -- noted the date but repeated the official version of events.

- 'Time passes' -

And on the popular Weibo platform, users who gravitated to the former account of Li Wenliang -- the whistleblower doctor who was investigated by police for spreading early information about the virus -- did not directly reference the anniversary.

"Dr. Li, another year has gone by," read one comment on Saturday. "How quickly time passes."

There was also little online commemoration in Hong Kong, where Beijing largely snuffed out opposition voices when it imposed a sweeping national security law on the semi-autonomous city in 2020.

Little is known about the identity of the first Covid casualty except that he was a frequent visitor to a Wuhan seafood market where the virus is thought to have circulated during the initial outbreak.

Within days of his death, other countries reported their first cases of the disease.

China was later criticized by Western governments for allegedly covering up the early transmission of the virus and effacing evidence of its origins, though Beijing has vehemently maintained it acted decisively and with full transparency.

According to the WHO, China has officially reported nearly 100 million Covid cases and 122,000 deaths to date, although the true number will likely never be known.

In 2023, Beijing declared a "decisive victory" over Covid, calling its response a "miracle in human history".