Gilead disputes report of anti-viral drug remdesivir failing Covid-19 trial

It comes days after another report of rapid recovery in fever and respiratory symptoms in some patients with Covid-19 who were treated with remdesivir at the University of Chicago Medicine hospital.

A closely-watched Gilead Sciences Inc experimental antiviral drug failed to help patients with severe Covid-19 in a clinical trial conducted in China, but the drugmaker said the findings were inconclusive because the study was terminated early.

Gilead shares closed down 4.3% after the data was inadvertently released and first reported by the Financial Times. It comes days after another report detailed rapid recovery in fever and respiratory symptoms in some patients with Covid-19 - the sometimes deadly respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus - who were treated with remdesivir at the University of Chicago Medicine hospital.

Interest in Gilead's remdesivir has been high as there are currently no approved treatments or preventive vaccines for Covid-19, and doctors are desperate for anything that might alter the course of the disease that attacks the lungs and can shut down other organs in extremely severe cases.

In the Chinese trial remdesivir, given by intravenous infusion, failed to improve patients' condition or reduce the pathogen's presence in the bloodstream, according to draft documents published accidentally by the World Health Organization (WHO).

But details were thin and suggested limitations in interpreting the data that has not yet been fully reviewed.

A screenshot of the WHO posting, captured by the medical news website STAT before it was taken down, said the trial enrolled 237 patients with 158 receiving remdesivir compared with 79 who got a placebo.

The rate of death was similar at 13.9% for remdesivir versus 12.8% in the control group.

Covid-19 impact: Life Insurer's new business premium declines 32% in March

For the month of March, the new business premiums of life insurance companies stood at Rs 25,409 crore compared to Rs 37,459 core in March 2019.

The new business premiums of life insurance companies declined 32 per cent in the month of March, owing to the disruption caused by the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) and the subsequent lockdown enforced by the government to contain its spread.

For the month of March, the new business premiums of life insurance companies stood at Rs 25,409 crore compared to Rs 37,459 core in March 2019. The private life insurers, 23 in total, saw their new business premiums decline by 34.21 per cent in March 2020 at Rs 8,342 crore compared to Rs 12,682 crore in the same period of the last financial year.

Similarly, state-owned life insurance behemoth – Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) – saw its premiums decline by 31.11 per cent in the reporting month. In March 2020, it collected new business premiums to the tune of Rs 17,066 crore compared to Rs 24,776 crore in March 2019.

However, for the entire fiscal year (FY20), life insurers saw new business premium grow 20.6 per cent to Rs 2.58 trillion compared to Rs 2.14 trillion in FY19. LIC outpaced the private insurers in new business premium growth in FY20. LIC’s premium grew 25.17 per cent to Rs 1.77 trillion while private insurers reported an 11.64% per cent growth to Rs 80,919 crore.

The last quarter is very significant for life insurers as they sell a lot of products during this time, especially the last month of the fiscal year. But with the lockdown, the business of life insurers got impacted severely.

Experts have said that in the near term, with extension in lockdown, social distancing norms in place, the new business of life insurers will take a hit.

Covid-19 crisis: SBI to disburse Rs 700 cr to MSMEs in Mumbai by June

Among all banks, SBI controls a market share of 22% in the MSME lending.

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, has set a target of disbursing Rs 700 crore to MSMEs in the Mumbai circle by the end of June, to help them tide over liquidity crisis due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Among all banks, SBI controls a market share of 22 per cent in the MSME lending.

"SBI will boost flow of credit to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) in this challenging period by reassessing their working capital limit and also by extending Covid-19 emergency loans.

"Overall, we expect to lend Rs 700 crore to MSMEs in four districts of Mumbai circle — Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad — by the end of June," the World Trade Centre said in a statement quoting Suresh Nair, deputy general manager (SMEs and financial inclusion) at SBI, as saying after a webinar.

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Nair expressed hope that the pandemic will not lead to a sudden spurt in bad loans as the Reserve Bank of India has provided moratorium on all loan repayments.

"The impact of the crisis on NPAs (non-performing assets) will become clear after August depending on the evolving situation," Nair said.

Though SBI has provided sanction letter for additional loan facility to 67 per cent of all eligible borrowers, only 50 per cent of them could avail of the facility due to practical difficulties in executing documentation, he said.

Quick approval, grace period: Medical insurance process eased amid Covid-19

Use instalments to increase cover; benefit from quick approvals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought home the significance of health and life insurance like nothing else earlier. Even those who were blasé about these covers in the past are now looking to buy a new policy or want to enhance the sum insured on their existing ones. Meanwhile, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has been issuing a slew of guidelines to health/general and life insurance companies aimed at easing matters for customers.

MEDICAL INSURANCE:

Pay health insurance premiums in instalments: Through a circular dated April 20, 2020, the regulator has permitted companies offering health insurance to allow customers to pay their premiums in instalments. With many customers expected to face financial hardships amid the lockdown, this step will ease customers’ burden. “It is an attempt to provide an affordable option to customers, and encourage more people to buy health insurance," says Prasun Sikdar, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), ManipalCigna Health Insurance.

Some insurers will charge the same premium under all options. “The premium amount will remain the same irrespective of the mode of payment," says S. Prakash, managing director, Star Health and Allied Insurance. Brokers, however, inform that some companies may charge you an extra amount if you go for any option other than annual.

The burden of paying the premium does get eased in a frequent-payment option. “In some COVID-19 cases, treatment costs have gone as high as Rs 14-15 lakh due to accompanying complications. If the sum insured on your family floater is not adequate, use the monthly payment option to enhance your cover,” suggests Amit Chhabra, business head, health insurance, Policybazaar.com.

Sachin won't celebrate 47th birthday as mark of respect for Covid warriors

Tendulkar has already contributed a total of Rs 50 lakhs to the CM Relief fund.

The legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who will turn 47 on Friday, has decided not to celebrate his birthday this year as a mark of respect for the frontline workers leading India's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Sachin has decided that this is not the time for celebrations. He feels that this is the best tribute he can pay to all the doctors, nurses, para-medics, policemen, defence personnel, who are at the frontline," news agency PTI quoted a source close to the player.

Tendulkar has already contributed a total of Rs 50 lakh to the CM Relief fund. He is also involved with several other relief work initiatives.

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"He has always been very uncomfortable talking about this aspect," the source said.

Numerous fan clubs are coming up with innovative tributes on social media for the iconic batsman.

One fan club will be releasing 40 rare photographs of the maestro and another will be highlighting all the social work and initiatives that the legend has undertaken in all these years.

Reliance Jio connects with Facebook for $5.7-billion equity deal

Investment values Jio Platforms at Rs 4.36 trn; US giant gets 9.99% stake, board seat; collaboration is non-exclusive.

Facebook and Reliance Jio hit the headlines early Wednesday morning, in a break from the daily lockdown news. Mark Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook post that the technology giant will acquire a 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL) through a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 43,574 crore.

The deal values JPL—the holding company of Reliance Jio — at an enterprise value Rs 4.62 trillion.

JPL’s equity value works out to Rs 4.36 trillion after Facebook’s investment, making it the fifth most valuable company in the country, behind its parent Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, and HDFC Bank.

Considering the market value of RIL and JPL, the Street is valuing RIL’s remaining but core businesses of refining and petrochemicals and others such as retail at a lesser number of Rs 4.28 trillion. This makes JPL more valuable than the rest of RIL.

JPL, a fully-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, houses many digital platforms like Jio Saavn and Radisys, besides the biggest disruptor in the Indian telecom scene, Jio.

As part of the deal, Facebook will get a board seat in JPL and an observer seat without voting powers. At a concall, a couple of hours after the news broke, Facebook India CEO Ajit Mohan said, “the very fact that we are announcing the deal during Covid-19 is a reflection of our commitment to invest in the country.’’

However, both sides made it clear that they will continue to compete in many areas where they have their own digital products. For instance, while Jio Pay is already operational, Facebook is awaiting permission for its digital payment platform. Also, Reliance has Jio Chat, which competes with WhatsApp directly.

“We will collaborate, not integrate. And in some areas, we will also compete as we have our own product lines. The deal is also not exclusive,” said Anshuman Thakur, head of strategy at Reliance Jio. He also pointed out that Jio or JPL could go public, but only in the medium term, in about three to four years.

Facebook-Jio deal may see more foreign e-commerce firms flock to India

WhatsApp's integration into Jio's e-com platform holds the key: Experts

Some recent regulatory developments may have precipitated the Facebook-Jio deal. Going forward, this may increasingly prompt foreign e-commerce operators to consider setting up base in India, say legal and tax experts.

Pressure from the recently-expanded scope of Equalisation Levy that covers non-resident e-commerce platforms, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) mandate that all data related to payments should be stored only in Indian systems, besides the rigours of an imminent Data Protection Law have played their part in shaping the Facebook-Jio deal, noted Tarun Jain, partner, BMR Legal.

The deal may not throw up any major tax issues, other than tax complexities associated with e-commerce business, said Abhishek Rastogi, partner at Khaitan & Co. The expanded scope of Equalisation Levy, as per the Finance Act 2020, is unlikely to influence the deal since most Jio platforms are likely to qualify as Indian e-commerce operator.

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“It will, however, be interesting to watch the manner in which WhatsApp is integrated with these platforms and facilitates online transactions,” said Lokesh Shah, partner, L&L Partners.

Given the wide scope of Equalisation Levy, which also includes a facilitator such as WhatsApp service, the applicability will need to be examined based on the actual role of WhatsApp/ Facebook, Shah added.

Experts, however, point out that becoming an Indian tax resident could turn out to be a double-edged sword for foreign e-commerce players as it would expose the global income of such operators to tax in India.