Two days after US FDA granted remdesivir orphan status for treatment of COVID-19, Gilead told the agency it is unnecessary. EMA says it would not grant orphan drug designation to a COVID-19 treatment.

Sanofi completes the transition of its infectious disease unit to Evotec. Perhaps not yet done with virology, Gilead licenses technology for HIV/hep B vaccines from Hookipa.

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.

Following its partnership with Dicerna, the German pharma signs a second NASH deal with MiNA and inks three cancer-related transactions, including divestitures. Also, Amgen buys out Kirin’s half of their joint venture for $780m.