Federal health advisers have narrowly backed an experimental vaccine from Pfizer that could become the first shot to protect older adults against the respiratory illness known as RSV.

U.S. regulators say GlaxoSmithKline’s COVID-19 antibody drug should no longer be used because it is likely ineffective against the latest version of the virus that accounts for most cases.

The pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline says it has rejected an unsolicited 50 billion-pound ($68.4 billion) bid from Unilever for its consumer healthcare goods unit.

Pharma firms Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline say they will begin production of another potential vaccine against COVID-19 within weeks.

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline’s potential COVID-19 vaccine triggered strong immune responses in all adult age groups in preliminary trials.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021 file photo, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. effort to rapidly develop COVID-19 vaccines, speaks during a news conference in Washington. On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, GlaxoSmithKline said Slaoui has been fired as chair of a medical research company over sexual harassment allegations. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)The former chief science adviser for the U.S. effort to rapidly develop COVID-19 vaccines has been fired from the board of directors of a medical research company over sexual harassment allegations, drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said Wednesday. Slaoui served as chief science adviser to Operation Warp Speed, which was launched under the Trump administration to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. GlaxoSmithKline said its investigation began after it received a letter in February outlining the allegations of “sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct."

This photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows Sir Andrew Witty. UnitedHealth Group is promoting former GlaxoSmithKline leader Sir Andrew Witty to become the health insurance providers next CEO immediately. (Richard Fleischman/UnitedHealth Group via AP)UnitedHealth Group is promoting former GlaxoSmithKline leader Sir Andrew Witty to become the health insurance provider’s next CEO immediately. UnitedHealth runs UnitedHealthcare, a health insurance business that covers more than 48 million people mostly in the United States. Shares of Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. slipped 2% to $330.41 while broader markets climbed in Thursday afternoon trading.

With some Americans now paying the price for what they did over Thanksgiving, health officials are warning people begging them, even not to make the same mistake during the Christmas and New Year's season. Andrew Cuomo has ended indoor dining indefinitely in New York City as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations climb. As of Monday, only takeout orders and outdoor dining will be allowed in one of the world’s great cuisine capitals. THE NUMBERS: Deaths in the U.S. have climbed to almost 2,260 per day on average, about equal to the peak seen in mid-April. ___Find AP’s full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

LONDON – Drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi said Friday that their potential COVID-19 vaccine won’t be ready until late next year because they need to improve the shot’s effectiveness in older people. London-based GSK and Paris-based Sanofi, now expect the vaccine to be available in the fourth quarter of 2021. A vaccine produced by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and German partner BioNTech has been authorized for widespread use in the U.K. and a handful of other countries. GSK and Sanofi said they were confident of their vaccine’s ultimate success due to positive results from other tests. In addition, they reported positive results from a “challenge study” in which non-human primates were intentionally exposed to the virus.

Pfizer executives had expected data from their 44,000-person international study would show by Oct. 31 how well it prevents coronavirus infections. Analysts peppered Bourla and other Pfizer executives with so many questions about the study that he repeatedly asked for their patience. It expects revenue of $48.8 billion to $49.5 billion, narrowed from its previous forecast of $48.6 billion to $50.6 billion. Pfizer will receive about $12 billion in return and its shareholders will get roughly one Viatris share for each Pfizer share they own. Pfizer expects to be able to grow revenue at least 6% annually through 2025 as a result of the transformation.

But experimental antibody drugs like the one Trump was given are among the most promising therapies being tested for treating and preventing coronavirus infections. Eli Lilly and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. are asking the U.S. government to allow emergency use of their antibody drugs, which aim to help the immune system clear the virus. The company made a successful Ebola combo antibody treatment this way. A: Researchers are still trying to determine the best candidates for antibody treatment. About 5.8% of patients given placebo required hospitalization or an emergency room visit versus 0.9% of those given the antibodies.

(AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)HONOLULU -- Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell says the city plans to allow some activities that were shut down last month to control the spread of the coronavirus to resume under new guidelines. Gary Herbert will increase pandemic restrictions in two Utah cities as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the state. The county accounted for 42% of the state’s cases despite having only 20% of state’s population. Eric Holcomb’s statewide mask mandate and other coronavirus restrictions poses a possible disruption to his reelection campaign. But the real toll is thought to be much higher, in part because many COVID-19 deaths were probably ascribed to other causes, especially early on, before widespread testing.

LONDON Pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur have announced they will supply 100 million doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine to the United States as governments buy up supplies in hopes something will work. The United States will pay up to $2.1 billion for development including clinical trials, manufacturing, scale-up and delivery of its vaccine,'' the companies said in a statement. The U.S. government has a further option for the supply of an additional 500 million doses longer term as part of its Operation Warp Speed program. Britains GSK and Frances Sanofis vaccine prospect is based on the existing DNA-based technology that is used to produce Sanofis seasonal flu vaccine. The global need for a vaccine to help prevent COVID-19 is massive, and no single vaccine or company will be able to meet the global demand alone, said Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of Sanofi Pasteur.