US allows 1st emergency use of a COVID-19 antibody drug:
U.S. health officials have allowed emergency use of the first antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, an experimental approach against the virus that has killed more than 238,000 Americans.
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared the experimental drug from Eli Lilly for people 12 and older with mild or moderate COVID-19 not requiring hospitalization. It's a one-time treatment given through an IV.
The therapy is still undergoing additional testing to establish its safety and effectiveness. It is similar to a treatment President Donald Trump received after contracting the virus last month.
Early results suggest the drug, called bamlanivimab, may help clear the coronavirus sooner and possibly cut hospitalizations in people with mild to moderate COVID-19. A study of it in hospitalized patients was stopped when independent monitors saw the drug did not seem to be helping in that situation.
[...] The new drug is part of an emerging family of biologic therapies that offer a promising new approach to preventing serious disease and death from COVID-19. Experts say the infused drugs could serve as a therapeutic bridge to help manage the virus until vaccines are widely available.
The drugs are laboratory-made versions of antibodies, blood proteins which the body creates to help target and eliminate foreign infections. The new therapies are concentrated versions of the antibodies that proved most effective against the virus in patient studies.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 11 2020, @12:59PM (2 children)
yeah well hmmm ...
"Each vial contains 700 milligrams and that dose proved ineffective in the early results. It took four times that amount — 2,800 milligrams — to show any effect."
tooo bad there won't be a simple solution to the problem like centrifuge recovalence blood or fresh green apple juice.
i guess the march away from nature (remedies) and towards a fully technologized future continues.
no way "back" should the gps, smart phone or vaccine factory fail ...
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 11 2020, @02:34PM (1 child)
I dunno, you should ask Steve Jobs about homeopathic cures. Oh wait...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 12 2020, @01:14AM
I forgot who said it, but it went something like this,
(Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday November 11 2020, @03:37PM (2 children)
My understanding is that it works only once, only for mildly sick in early stages, costs a bundle and may have serious side effects. Given that large majority has their firs infection as a simple cold with no consequences, who is going to use it and why?
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday November 11 2020, @08:56PM (1 child)
People whose cases were severe enough to need outpatient medical treatment, but not severe enough that they're lying in a hospital bed and possibly dying of it. Which, based on my state's stats at least, is a significant percentage. And if this stuff can get them healthy enough that they don't need to be hospitalized, that's a good thing not only for them but also for whoever would have to get kicked out of a hospital bed in order to accommodate them.
I agree that's not the same thing as "Hooray, it's over!" Pfizer's vaccine, if it is as good as advertised, once it's widely distributed, is going to get us much closer to that. In the meantime, stay socially distanced and use masks. Heck, stay socially distanced and use masks even once you have the vaccine, because you'll go from 90% safe to 99.9% safe and help get those infection numbers down even faster.
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday November 11 2020, @10:33PM
May be, but I doubt they will take the drug given an astronomical price it will sure have and potentialy heavy consequences. People who don't need a hospital rarely do aggressive treatments. Trump was an exception.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 3, Funny) by GreatOutdoors on Wednesday November 11 2020, @05:18PM
bamlanivimab
:)
Yes, I did make a logical argument there. You should post a logical response.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 11 2020, @08:29PM
"virus that has killed more than 238,000 Americans."
fuck off, lying Jews.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 11 2020, @08:56PM
an ongoing struggle .. at be$t.