Posted on 03/21/2020 9:30:24 AM PDT by BraveMan
Could the old generic malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil, Sanofi-Aventis, among others), which is also used for the treatment of rheumatic disease, be an essential treatment for COVID-19?
This hypothesis, put forward by some, including Professor Didier Raoult of the IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, was dismissed by other eminent infectious disease specialists and dismissed as fake news recently by the Ministry of Health.
Yet it resurfaced yesterday with the presentation on YouTube by Prof Raoult of positive results in a non-randomised, unblinded trial of 24 patients.
This follows encouraging in vitro results obtained by a Chinese team led by Xueting Yao, from Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China, which were published online by the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases on March 9th. However, the data were deemed insufficient by the infection community to recommend the compound as a treatment.
Moreover, chloroquine is not listed among the four treatments studied as part of the recently launched European clinical trial piloted by Inserm, which includes 3200 severe hospitalised patients, including 800 French patients.
Chloroquine was ruled out due to the risk of interactions with other medications for common comorbidities in infected patients, and because of possible adverse effects in patients undergoing resuscitation. The Marseille Study
The European Union Clinical Trials Register shows that the Marseille study was accepted on 5th March by the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM). It could include up to 25 COVID-19 positive patients, comprising five aged 12–17 years, 10 aged 18–64 years, and 10 more aged 65 years or over.
While the data have not yet been published, and should therefore be interpreted with caution, this non-randomised, unblinded study showed a strong reduction in viral load with hydroxychloroquine.
After 6 days, the percentage of patients testing positive for COVID-19 who received hydroxychloroquine fell to 25% versus 90% for those who did not receive the treatment (a group of untreated COVID-19 patients from Nice and Avignon).
In addition, comparing untreated patients, those receiving hydroxychloroquine and those given hydroxychloroquine plus the antibiotic azithromycin, the results showed there was "a spectacular reduction in the number of positive cases" with the combination therapy, said Prof Raoult.
At 6 days, among patients given combination therapy, the percentage of cases still carrying SRAS-CoV-2 was no more than 5%.
Azithromycin was added because it is known to be effective against complications from bacterial lung disease but also because it has been shown to be effective in the laboratory against a large number of viruses, the infectious disease specialist explained.
"Everyone who died from COVID-19 were still carriers of coronavirus. To no longer have the virus changes the prognosis," Prof Raoult said.
More detailed results of the study have been submitted for publication in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. Study Splits Infectious Disease Community
The announcement of positive results from this small study split medical opinion.
Rachael Maddow demanding someone be taken off Live news broadcasts, for our protection! That's Rich!
This is page 1 of 3. 170 too many words to qualify as an excerpt . . .
ping.
It may not be a “cure”, but it sure seems like it is helping.
A lot.
If this continues to hold, then it really would move COVID-19 down to “it’s just a flu” status.
$20/month for the anti-malaria stuff thats been around for over 60 years versus the $1000/month Gilead stuff. Now, which one do you think the FDA is gonna push for?
It has been studied for use against SARS, another coronavirus. Maddow is a hack.
Follow the money.
Hydroxycholorquine costs about $20 for one month’s supply. It is a generic drug manufactured by several companies. It has been approved and in use since 1955 for malaria and other diseases. It is unlikely that drug companies will pay for clinical trials in view of limited profit potential.
Remdesivir is a proprietary experimental drug developed by one major medical company, Gilead Science. It has not been approved for use at all, but is being clinically tested, apparently sponsored by Gilead Science. Estimated cost for one month’s supply is $1,000. There is a high profit potential if this drug is ultimately approved.
Is it any wonder that the drug industry is trying to slow the use of Hydroxycholoroquine to maintain a market for
remdesivir after it finishes clinical trials?
The FDA has long had a symbiotic relationship with the drug industry, which some might view as incestuous, or worse. It is possible that the FDA is complicit in delaying use of hydroxychloroquine to allow a window of opportunity for the profit from Remdesivir.
Let’s pray this stuff works and life goes back to normal.
No panaceas but chloroquine certainly may help.
It is safe and available.
South Korean doctors recommend its use.
FDA this week approved a clinical trial to determine efficacy in a well controlled study being done by a group in Minnesota.
No one claims it’s a panacea or wonder drug, but it is available to use now and could help.
Nope. No money in it for bob pharma which now drives the healthcare train.
[Remdesivir is a proprietary experimental drug developed by one major medical company, Gilead Science. It has not been approved for use at all, but is being clinically tested, apparently sponsored by Gilead Science. Estimated cost for one month’s supply is $1,000. There is a high profit potential if this drug is ultimately approved.]
I believe it’s being approved for compassionate use.
CC
But what are doctors now prescribing? We heard form Dr. Grace from Lenox Hill Hospital who was having good results from it, treating Covid patients.
The South Koreans and Chinese are using it, and they seem to be shrinking their cases? The Chinese had tested 1000 drugs against Covid and chloroquine was the best.
We haven’t heard bad news except that the FDA hasn’t approved it for Covid - and the answer to that is it takes them years to study it and make decisions.
Didier Raoulte is a world renown French biologist, and he was very positive on chloroquine as treatment for Covid in his study.
With the previous experience, the low cost, the dearth of other available treatments, and that it is a well known safe drug that is dirt cheap, I would be using it. That is why Doctors are now using it all over the world.
It would be inhumane and stupid to wait for a study when you can save lives with this well known drug!
In a war you fight with the army you have not the army you want.
“I believe it’s being approved for compassionate use.”
Yes.
It’s called Expanded Access.
Because it is approved and used, it technically does not need expanded access to be used, but this is the FDA saying they are not against using it for this purpose, which is important.
Basically, a doctor now doesn’t have to worry about a malpractice suit if he uses it to treat a patient.
That is a very low quality study. If hydroxychloroquine has any therapeutic benefit, it must be revealed through high quality studies. That means randomized and blinded.
The answer is gin and tonic. Drink enough and you won’t care if it works.
Ask the drs in the briefing if they’d take it. They’ll say yes.
I’m telling you it’s being used
At this point I wouldn’t give a crap whether it was a randomized and blinded trial or FDA approved. If I were to test positive I would absolutely demand the “right to try” it.
Why anyone that has become infected isn’t doing so is beyond me.
Madcow’s interest is to keep making the Coronacrisis worse not better.
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