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Have The Japanese Come Up With A Coronavirus Cure?
Hotair ^
| 03/19/2020
| Jazz Shaw
Posted on 03/19/2020 7:29:14 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Ill start by reminding everyone that Im not a doctor and have no professional experience in the field of medicine. With that out of the way, Ill confess that Ive always been under the impression that diseases caused by a virus cant be cured the way we are able to treat bacterial infections. The most you can generally do is develop a vaccine and try to prevent people from getting sick in the first place.
But maybe that isnt always true. Doctors in Japan have reportedly used a drug developed to treat the flu to eliminate the coronavirus in patients within four days. If this is true, its huge. And somebody needs to get that drug into mass production immediately. (The Guardian)
Medical authorities in China have said a drug used in Japan to treat new strains of influenza appeared to be effective in coronavirus patients, Japanese media said on Wednesday.
Zhang Xinmin, an official at Chinas science and technology ministry, said favipiravir, developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, had produced encouraging outcomes in clinical trials in Wuhan and Shenzhen involving 340 patients.
It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment, Zhang told reporters on Tuesday.
Patients who tested positive for the coronavirus tested negative after a median time of four days following administration of the drug. And considering that were supposedly still 12 to 18 months away from an effective vaccine being generally available, were probably going to have a lot of sick people to deal with.
And even if the Japanese dont have a foolproof cure, theres this. Fox News reported that a peer-reviewed study showed that a medicine developed to treat malaria wiped out the coronavirus in 100% of patients treated. Its only the second time that medicine has successfully treated a virus.
If thats not enough good news for you on a Thursday morning, theres something new cooking at Oxford University Medical Center. They claim to have a test kit that people can use at home and it delivers results in only 30 minutes. (Telegraph)
A rapid test for coronavirus which could give a result in just 30 minutes for people at home, has been developed by Oxford University.
The super sensitive test, which can picks up the virus in its very early stages when it might otherwise have been missed, could be rolled out to testing centres within a fortnight and could soon be available for home use.
Previous viral RNA tests took 1.5 to 2 hours to give a result slowing down the ability to respond quickly to the crisis.
They coordinated with a medical center in China to run the test on samples from patients participating in the study. The new test kits reportedly delivered 100% accurate results for people who tested both positive and negative. Thats also huge because false positive and negative results are a daunting concern when dealing a pandemic of this magnitude.
Im not trying to peddle bottled sunshine here or blow smoke of everyones skirts, but we could really use some good news on the coronavirus front. And if labs are finding actual cures for this disease and effective test kits are ready to be rolled out globally, we just might wind up slaying this dragon after all.
TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: coronavirus; cure; favipiravir; japan
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To: SeekAndFind
2
posted on
03/19/2020 7:30:36 AM PDT
by
SeekAndFind
(look at Michigan, it will)
To: SeekAndFind
To: SeekAndFind
MORE HERE:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceuticals/Search-for-coronavirus-cure-boosted-by-go-ahead-for-Fujifilm-s-Avigan
Search for coronavirus cure boosted by go-ahead for Fujifilm’s Avigan
(EXCERPT)
TOKYO — Medical experts are turning to existing treatments for the flu, Ebola and other illnesses to save patients from the spreading pandemic amid a global push to develop a cure for the new coronavirus.
The Chinese government announced Tuesday that the influenza drug favipiravir, developed by a Fujifilm Holdings subsidiary and sold under the name Avigan, is effective against the coronavirus, based on a clinical trial of 200 patients.
Some Japanese doctors have also been treating coronavirus patients with Avigan. Tokyo has stockpiled enough of the drug to treat 2 million patients. “We have been asked by the government to consider increasing production,” Fujifilm said, though logistical hurdles are believed to stand in the way.
Avigan was approved to treat influenza in Japan in March 2014. Fujifilm signed a license agreement with China’s Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical in 2016, and the latter is now gearing up to mass-produce the drug. Beijing is already recommending the drug to health care providers.
4
posted on
03/19/2020 7:32:26 AM PDT
by
SeekAndFind
(look at Michigan, it will)
To: RummyChick
MORE HERE:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceuticals/Search-for-coronavirus-cure-boosted-by-go-ahead-for-Fujifilm-s-Avigan
Search for coronavirus cure boosted by go-ahead for Fujifilms Avigan
(EXCERPT)
TOKYO Medical experts are turning to existing treatments for the flu, Ebola and other illnesses to save patients from the spreading pandemic amid a global push to develop a cure for the new coronavirus.
The Chinese government announced Tuesday that the influenza drug favipiravir, developed by a Fujifilm Holdings subsidiary and sold under the name Avigan, is effective against the coronavirus, based on a clinical trial of 200 patients.
Some Japanese doctors have also been treating coronavirus patients with Avigan. Tokyo has stockpiled enough of the drug to treat 2 million patients. We have been asked by the government to consider increasing production, Fujifilm said, though logistical hurdles are believed to stand in the way.
Avigan was approved to treat influenza in Japan in March 2014. Fujifilm signed a license agreement with Chinas Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical in 2016, and the latter is now gearing up to mass-produce the drug. Beijing is already recommending the drug to health care providers.
5
posted on
03/19/2020 7:32:50 AM PDT
by
SeekAndFind
(look at Michigan, it will)
To: RummyChick
per wiki
Approval status
In 2014, Japan approved Favipiravir for treating viral strains unresponsive to current antivirals.[18] Toyama Chemical initially hoped that Avigan would become a new influenza drug that could replace Tamiflu. However, animal experiments show the potential for teratogenic effects on fetuses, and the approval of production by The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare was greatly delayed and the production condition is limited only in an emergency in Japan.[19]
In March 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration completed a Phase III clinical trial studying the safety and efficacy of Favipiravir in the treatment of influenza.[20]
To: SeekAndFind
Yup. I’ve read a bunch of the NCBI reports.
7
posted on
03/19/2020 7:33:31 AM PDT
by
djf
To: SeekAndFind
Antiviral? Not a cure, but a treatment.
8
posted on
03/19/2020 7:33:35 AM PDT
by
brownsfan
(Behold, the power of government cheese.)
To: RummyChick
To: SeekAndFind
This will never see the light of day on the Fox Business website.
All they want is doom, doom, and more doom.
10
posted on
03/19/2020 7:34:47 AM PDT
by
Conserv
To: RummyChick
To: RummyChick
However, animal experiments show the potential for teratogenic effects on fetuses . . . For the vast majority of current Coronavirus patients, who are either male or over age 60, that should not be a problem.
12
posted on
03/19/2020 7:37:05 AM PDT
by
Pollster1
("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
To: SeekAndFind
You can make a drug / vaccine that is:
- safe
- effective
- produced quickly
But you only get to choose two of the three.
13
posted on
03/19/2020 7:37:38 AM PDT
by
taxcontrol
(Stupid should hurt (Dad's wisdom")
To: RummyChick
so it appears this drug has been in the works for awhile
So, could Chinese have been working on the Cure...and the bioweapon...and it got accidentally released before they were ready.
To: SeekAndFind
Stocks haven’t fallen far enough yet.
15
posted on
03/19/2020 7:39:42 AM PDT
by
MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
(Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
To: Conserv
16
posted on
03/19/2020 7:39:44 AM PDT
by
SeekAndFind
(look at Michigan, it will)
To: SeekAndFind
Instead of concentrating on the new fangled therapeutics, we ought to be reaching for on-the shelf methods. I know big Pharma doesn’t want to hear that message, but things like chloroquine in combination with zinc or Z-pack need to be tried immediately. These combinations have a scientific basis to suggest they just might work.
To: taxcontrol
But you only get to choose two of the three. I would suggest that you could choose "effective" and "quickly" from your list and get lucky to have a safe drug, but you would not be able to prove that without further, lengthier trials in humans.
Efficacious, quick and safe are mutually exclusive; proving that they're safe requires additional time.
18
posted on
03/19/2020 7:45:13 AM PDT
by
Lou L
(Health "insurance" is NOT the same as health "care")
To: iontheball
RE: chloroquine in combination with zinc or Z-pack need to be tried immediately. These combinations have a scientific basis to suggest they just might work.
They should publish the protocol that worked in the study PRONTO even without FDA approval.
How large a dosage of chloroquine in combo with zinc should patients take, etc.
19
posted on
03/19/2020 7:45:34 AM PDT
by
SeekAndFind
(look at Michigan, it will)
To: SeekAndFind
20
posted on
03/19/2020 7:45:57 AM PDT
by
aquila48
(Do not let them make you care!)
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