coronavirus treatment Archives - Amazing Health Advances

As Number of COVID-19 Infections Drop, the President Announces FDA-Authorized Plasma Treatment

AHA Publisher — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 07:00:05 +0000

News Staff via CBN News – There’s some good news in the fight against the Coronavirus. The number of new infections has dropped to the lowest level in two months. The news comes as President Trump and the Food and Drug Administration announced progress Sunday in treating COVID-19. So far, the virus has killed more than 175,000 Americans. The FDA declared emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients, saying its benefits outweigh its risks. Convalescent plasma is blood from people who have survived the virus which is then transfused into people currently fighting it. It’s been used on 70,000 people since the pandemic began. The treatment is a century-old approach to fend off flu and measles before vaccines. It’s a go-to tactic when new diseases come along, and history suggests it works against some, but not all, infections. President Trump said the emergency use authorization will dramatically increase access to the treatment. But the FDA’s chief scientist says the treatment should not be recognized as a new standard for treating Coronavirus patients. In a letter describing the emergency authorization, the chief scientist for the FDA, Denise Hinton, said: “COVID-19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing, well-controlled clinical trials in the coming months. According to the Associated Press, the White House had grown agitated with the pace of the plasma approval. The accusations of an FDA slowdown, which were presented without evidence, were just the latest assault from Trump’s team on what he refers to as the “deep state” bureaucracy. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows did not deal in specifics, but said that “we’ve looked at a number of people that are not being as diligent as they should be in terms of getting to the bottom of it.” “This president is about cutting red tape,” Meadows said in an interview Sunday on “This Week” on ABC. “He had to make sure that they felt the heat. If they don’t see the light, they need to feel the heat because the American people are suffering.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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Israel Starts Clinical Trial of Plasma-Derived Covid Drug

AHA Publisher — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 07:00:35 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – 12 patients are receiving Kamada’s immunoglobulin for coronavirus disease; so far, three patients were well enough to go home from the hospital. Physicians at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem report promising early results of a clinical study in which they are treating Covid-19 patients with immunoglobulin (IgG) derived from the plasma of recovered patients found to have high levels of antibodies. The serum is prepared by Rehovot-based biopharmaceutical company Kamada. Three patients have already received the serum and are doing well, according to Dr. Yaron Ilan, chief of internal medicine at Hadassah University Medical Center. “The first patient demonstrated a rapid clinical benefit and went home after previously being in moderate condition.” The other two also have been released from the hospital. Ilan stressed that this experimental treatment, though very encouraging, is in an early phase. Dr. Zeev Rotstein, director general of Hadassah Medical Center, called their recovery “almost a miracle.” Rotstein was among the initiators of the collection of plasma from recovered corona patients. He also revealed to the Jerusalem Post on August 12 that Hadassah will help test a Russian-developed vaccine for coronavirus. For the past three months, Hadassah has been collecting plasma donations from recovered patients with the cooperation of ultra-Orthodox communal organizations. Kamada said additional Israeli hospitals are taking part in this Phase 1/2 clinical trial of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 plasma-derived IgG. “This open-label, single-arm multicenter study was approved by the Ministry of Health in Israel. The trial will assess the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the company’s plasma-derived IgG product in hospitalized, non-ventilated Covid-19 patients with pneumonia,” Kamada reported. “A total of 12 eligible patients will be enrolled and receive Kamada’s product at a single dose of 4g within 10 days of initial symptoms. Patients will be followed for 84 days. In parallel, Kamada intends to further explore the potential of its IgG product to prevent Covid-19 disease in healthy subjects at risk in a separate study.” This milestone is part of the global collaboration agreement established in April 2020 between Kamada and its partner Kedrion Biopharma for the development, manufacturing and distribution of a plasma-derived immunoglobulin product as a potential treatment for coronavirus disease. Kamada and Kedrion intend to conduct a pre-investigational new drug (IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration soon in anticipation of obtaining FDA approval of the proposed clinical development program. Meanwhile, Kedrion will collect Covid-19 convalescent plasma from recovered American patients. “We are encouraged by the results of the product neutralization activity and we believe our product has the potential to be an effective treatment for hospitalized, non-ventilated COVID-19 patients with pneumonia, and look forward to the results from this trial,” said Amir London, Kamada’s CEO. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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Remdesivir to the Rescue? New Drug Touted by Top Doc as Study Shows It ‘Blocks’ COVID-19

AHA Publisher — Wed, 06 May 2020 07:00:46 +0000

Heather Sells via CBN News – Hopes are rising for a promising experimental drug in the fight against COVID-19. A major study shows that Remdesivir can speed recovery and may reduce the death rate. Experts believe it could have a profound effect on the pandemic since a vaccine is probably at least a year away. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced the news at an Oval Office press conference late Wednesday. “We think looking forward this is very optimistic,” he said. The California-based biotech company Gilead Sciences Inc. makes the drug. Researchers initially developed the drug to treat Ebola, but now, a major study shows it helps hospitalized COVID-19 patients recover more quickly from the disease – an average of 11 days compared to 15 for those in a control group receiving a placebo. Those on the drug also showed a trend toward fewer deaths. “The data shows that Remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant positive effect in diminishing the time of recovery,” said Fauci. “It’s a very important proof of concept because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus.” The US National Institutes of Health ran the study involving 1,063 COVID-19 patients in 22 countries, including the US. Some patients are already praising the drug for speeding their recovery. Chris Kane said he noticed a change after he began taking it. “Within 48 hours I was feeling a lot better,” he said. “I think that Remdesivir gave me the extra jumpstart or kickstart or whatever I needed to kind of turn that corner.” Experts say more study is needed. They are cautiously optimistic about the drug and the NIH study. It has not been peer-reviewed but is being submitted to a journal for review. The FDA says it’s working with Gilead to fast-track Remdesivir, to make it available to patients as quickly as possible, as appropriate. Gilead is ramping up production and plans to have more than 140,000 treatment courses available by the end of May, more than 500,000 by October and 1 million by December. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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