Posted on 08/07/2014 10:31:10 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Let’s face it. If experimental drugs were to be used in Africa, “somebodies” would be screaming racism for experimenting on blacks.
And there are other drugs available worldwide for conditions that are not approved for use in the USA because the FDA has not *approved* them yet, deemed them safe for human use.
Even if there were 5,000 doses, they’d still deny its use in humans until determined whether it was safe to use on humans and how do you do that? Try it on humans.
And there is no better case than for something as deadly as Ebola.
My issue is with the foot dragging that the FDA does continually for any drugs.
Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.
The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.
So far the false positive rate is 100%.
At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.
*sigh* Such is life, and death...
This drug already exists in quantity. It’s in phase III clinical trials IN HUMANS already for use wrt Influenza.
It also doesn’t require special conditions like the serum. It doesn’t have to be stored at 0F and is probably available in simple pill form already.
If we deny the use of these kinds of drugs to Africa, the epidemic WILL burn out of control there and will likely set OUR home on fire subsequently.
See my reply above.
c 24.
So what we have heard is lying then. I guess I should be surprised, but I am not. I bet the stockpile is sitting in bunkers for that nest of vipers running Washington DC.
Everyone else? Not important.
I have been suspicious of that from the beginning of this outbreak.
It was a perfect scenario for the drug company - an outbreak of the deadly Ebola with two American medical professionals facing near certain death. They were highly motivated to agree to be live guinea pigs AND they certainly understood the risks and could give ‘informed consent’. With this scenario, there was no issue of African nations accusing them of experimenting on their people with all the issues (like race, uneducated, poor, etc.) that could be raised. I suspect that’s why there will be a reluctance to use it in Africa unless it is tested and approved. Considering the cost to make the serum & that it’s not approved for use in humans, there is no reason for it to be manufactured in mass quantities at this time ... which is also a convenient excuse to supply Africa with it in its current state (unapproved, barely tested).
oops - should be: which is also a convenient excuse NOT to supply Africa with it in its current state (unapproved, barely tested).
This was the ‘take home’ bit of that article, it’s already BEEN approved for SALE in Japan!:
“The advantage of using Favipiravir in an Ebola outbreak is that it has already been extensively tested for use as an antiviral in human trials for influenza. The drug is now in a U.S. final-stage trial for treating influenza.
In addition, the drug is a pill, unlike the cocktail of injected antibodies administered to two Americans who contracted Ebola. This means it may be easier to use in rural locations with limited medical infrastructure.
“Currently, we are holding preparatory talks to start clinical trials (in consideration of possible use of the drug to fight Ebola) through our American partner MediVector,” Chisato Yoshizawa, a manager at Fujifilm Holdings’ communications division, said Friday.
Yoshizawa said that on March 24 the drug in its tablet-format was approved by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry for sale in Japan as a flu drug.”
c 24, particularly this part:
“The advantage of using Favipiravir in an Ebola outbreak is that it has already been extensively tested for use as an antiviral in human trials for influenza. The drug is now in a U.S. final-stage trial for treating influenza.
In addition, the drug is a pill, unlike the cocktail of injected antibodies administered to two Americans who contracted Ebola. This means it may be easier to use in rural locations with limited medical infrastructure.
“Currently, we are holding preparatory talks to start clinical trials (in consideration of possible use of the drug to fight Ebola) through our American partner MediVector,” Chisato Yoshizawa, a manager at Fujifilm Holdings’ communications division, said Friday.
Yoshizawa said that on March 24 the drug in its tablet-format was approved by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry for sale in Japan as a flu drug.”
“Dangerous, unproven ebola serum to be tested on poor black Africans following monkey trials.”
from c24:
“The advantage of using Favipiravir in an Ebola outbreak is that it has already been extensively tested for use as an antiviral in human trials for influenza. The drug is now in a U.S. final-stage trial for treating influenza.
In addition, the drug is a pill, unlike the cocktail of injected antibodies administered to two Americans who contracted Ebola. This means it may be easier to use in rural locations with limited medical infrastructure.
“Currently, we are holding preparatory talks to start clinical trials (in consideration of possible use of the drug to fight Ebola) through our American partner MediVector,” Chisato Yoshizawa, a manager at Fujifilm Holdings’ communications division, said Friday.
Yoshizawa said that on March 24 the drug in its tablet-format was approved by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry for sale in Japan as a flu drug.”
More here:
And it’s been shown to work 100% of the time POST infection in mice:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24583123
Oh, I’m sure the actual facts of the matter wouldn’t get in the way of the left’s kneejerk accusations of racism.
This is a DIFFERENT drug.
Not a ‘serum’, a pill that’s ALREADY on sale in Japan as an antiflu drug.
Not the same drug as given to the patients in Atlanta.
This is a drug for influenza which seems to have an effect on Ebola.
But the argument is still the same. If we send an untested drug to Africa, and it kills a bunch of people, we will be painted as racists killing people in Africa. If we do not send the drug we will be painted as racists killing a bunch of people in Africa. If we do not fund complete healthcare for every single person in Africa, we will be branded as racists killing people in Africa.
But the Christian thing to do is force the Japanese company to give its drug for free to fight the Ebola epidemic. Or would you like us to pay Japan for the drugs in Africa?
That’s because whitey makes the rules, jack!
Thanks for pointing out that post .... very interesting.
I’ll be very curious to see how this all works out - if they’ll provide it to Africa without FDA approval, if FDA will fast-track, etc. It sounds like they might have some ‘supply’ which is usually not the case for the drugs specifically targeted at Ebola.
I saw an interesting comment about the serum given the two at Emory. One medical professional said it worked on Brantly almost like an anti-venom .... rapid response & turnaround in condition. It did not work that fast on Writebol & she needed a second dose. There is a ‘complicating’ factor with looking at the Brantly result - he got a unit of blood from an Ebola survivor before the serum and that should have had antibodies .... was his rapid improvement the result of the two combined?
Ebola is so horrifically deadly - I read the “Hot Zone” years ago and was totally fascinated by it - still have that fascination today, although my heart aches for the victims and their families.
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