On Sept. 2, 2020, the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced that it had made a strategic decision to discontinue the development of pimodivir, an investigational antiviral treatment for influenza A infection.

This decision was based on recent results from pre-planned interim analyses of the pimodivir Phase 3 trial in hospitalized patients with influenza A, that found pimodivir in combination with the standard of care (SOC) was very unlikely to demonstrate added benefit in hospitalized patients with influenza A compared to SOC treatment alone. The study in hospitalized patients with influenza A and the parallel Phase 3 study of pimodivir in outpatients with influenza A was also halted.

This decision was reached in consultation with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and co-funder for the program.