Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Medication Good News For COVID-19 Interferon Alpha 2B and Favipiravir shows good clinical efficacy in treating COVID-19

For 40 years, Cuba has been using a molecule named Interferon Alpha 2B, which has successfully been used to combat the new Coronavirus in China and elsewhere.

"The world has an opportunity to understand that health is not a commercial asset but a basic right," Cuban doctor Luis Herrera, the creator of the Interferon Alfa 2-B medication, one of the most successful medications in the fight against COVID-19
One of the ways the virus can multiply inside the cells is by decreasing the levels of Interferon naturally produced in human cells. The molecule thus, through a different metabolic way, it is able to create conditions in order to limit the replication of the virus.
Interferons (IFNs) comprise a family of secretory proteins induced in response to specific extracellular stimuli through stimulation of toll-like receptors (TLRs; ). Acting in paracrine or autocrine modes, IFNs stimulate intra- and intercellular networks for regulating innate and acquired immunity, resistance to viral infections, and normal and tumour cell survival and death. Through high-affinity cell surface receptors IFNs stimulate genes, using signalling molecules used by other cytokines, but first identified through studies of IFNs. Perturbations in these pathways can lead to overstimulation of cellular functions or can make cells resistant to a given ligand, facilitating either progression or resistance of malignancy. IFNs act on almost every cell type and through their cellular actions can be effective in inhibition of tumour emergence, progression, and for inducing regression



Favipiravir

Favipiravir (T-705; 6-fluoro-3-hydroxy-2-pyrazinecarboxamid,) is an antiviral drug that selectively inhibited the RdRP of influenza virus. It showed specific activity against all three influenza A, B, and C. also inhibited the RV replication in HeLa cells, with an EC50 of 29 µg/mL.  
The analysis showed that the primary mechanism of action of favipiravir against the influenza virus was a specific inhibition of vRNA polymerase. It is predicted that a similar mechanism might occur with other viruses, such as PV and RV, inhibited by favipiravir, which may account for its broad-spectrum inhibition. Mechanistic studies show that the favipiravir and its form favipiravir-RMP (favipiravir-ribofuranosyl-50-monophosphate) do not inhibit influenza RNA polymerase activity, but it is the phosphoribosylated form, favipiravir-ribofuranosyl-50-triphosphate (RTP) that inhibits the enzyme. Metabolism of favipiravir to its triphosphate form occurs in an extracellular environment in a concentration-dependent manner. The vRNA polymerase mistakenly recognizes favipiravir-RTP as a purine nucleotide. This favipiravir-RTP is misincorporated in nascent vRNA, or it may act by binding to conserved polymerase domains, preventing incorporation of nucleotides for vRNA replication and transcription.


China has completed the clinical research of Favipiravir, an antiviral drug that has shown good clinical efficacy against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to an official Tuesday.

Favipiravir, the influenza drug which was approved for clinical use in Japan in 2014, has shown no obvious adverse reactions in the clinical trial, said Zhang Xinmin, director of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development under the Ministry of Science and Technology, at a press conference.

More than 80 patients have participated in the clinical trial in The Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, including 35 patients taking Favipiravir and 45 patients on a control group. Results showed that patients receiving Favipiravir treatment turned negative for the virus in a shorter time compared with patients in the control group.

 a multi-centred randomized clinical study led by the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University also suggested that the therapeutic effect of Favipiravir is much better than that of the control group.

Favipiravir has been recommended to medical treatment teams and should be included in the diagnosis and treatment plan for COVID-19 as soon as possible, Zhang said.
Other Good News 
A new academic study reveals over-the-counter anti-malaria pill Chloroquine maybe highly effective at treating coronavirus. According to a new academic study presented by Thomas R. Broker, (Stanford PhD), James M. Todaro (Columbia MD), and Gregory J. Rigano, Esq., in consultation with Stanford University School of Medicine, UAB School of Medicine, and National Academy of Sciences researchers, shows that over the counter anti-malaria pills Chloroquine may be highly effective at treating coronavirus COVID-19.
On Monday, we reported that NIH has begun a clinical trial of an investigational vaccine for COVID-19. A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine designed to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle. The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by NIAID scientists and their collaborators at the biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) supported the manufacturing of the vaccine candidate for the Phase 1 clinical trial.
A new preliminary study shows that the coronavirus epidemic may be slowed by warm weather. A new study conducted by Chinese researchers shows that high temperature and high humidity reduced the transmission of COVID-19. If true, the warm the weather would bring the much-needed relief while we are waiting for the coronavirus vaccine, which is still about 12 months away. In a paper published in Social Science Research Network (SSRN), a repository and international a journal devoted to the rapid dissemination of scholarly research in the social sciences and humanities, Chinese researchers investigate how air temperature and humidity influence the transmission of COVID-19 and analyzed how the epidemic evolved in various Chinese cities taking into account the weather in each.
In February, we published a story when Israel scientists announced a breakthrough in coronavirus treatment. “After 4 years of research funded by Israel’s Ministry of Science & Technology, MIGAL’s researchers have developed an effective vaccine against avian coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV), to be adapted soon and create a human vaccine against COVID-19,” the group said in a press release.
Just two weeks ago, as we reported on this site, German researchers have identified existing drug with the potential to treat coronavirus Covid-19. A team of scientists led by infection biologists from five German research institutions made a startling discovery about a potential drug that could treat coronavirus Covid-19. They found that an existing drug camostat mesylate might protect against COVID-19. They identified a cellular enzyme that is essential for viral entry into lung cells: the protease TMPRSS2. A clinically proven drug known to be active against TMPRSS2 was found to block SARS-CoV-2 infection and might constitute a novel treatment option (Cell).
A team of scientists from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha has to develop a drug to treat the virus and now ready to conduct a clinical trial. Participants are asked to come to 11 in-person study visits and four phone visits over a 14-month period, including one initial screening visit, two vaccination visits, and eight follow-ups. Patients will receive two injections of the vaccine in the upper arm with doses given 28 days apart.
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute announced today it has received a green light from the government to begin its vaccine trials, the first of its kind. Its research team is enrolling 45 healthy people, ages 18 to 55, from the Seattle-area over the course of 14 months.
Chinese scientists say coronavirus vaccine may be available and ready next month. As we reported last week, Zheng Zhongwei, China director of the Science and Technology Development Centre of the National Health Commission (NHC) announced that the country is making progress and that a new coronavirus vaccine maybe ready for emergency use next month. Zheng said that a new synthetic messenger RNA (or mRNA) nucleic acid vaccine is the leading candidate for a vaccine to combat COVID-19.
Doctors in India has been successful in treating Coronavirus. Combination of drugs used: Lopinavir, Retonovir, Oseltamivir along with Chlorphenamine. They are going to suggest same medicine, globally. Italian  elderly Italian couple currently undergoing treatment for coronavirus (COVID-19) at a hospital in Jaipur have been administered a combination of two drugs, commonly used controlling HIV infection. This is the first time that this combination has been used to treat the deadly virus amid mounting cases in India. Following the success, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved the ‘restricted’ use of the combination of medications-lopinavir and ritonavir, which are second-line HIV drugs, before they were administered to the elderly couple
Researchers of the Erasmus Medical Center claim to have found an antibody against coronavirus. A team of ten scientific researchers from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam and Utrecht University say they are the first in the world to discover an antibody capable of fending off infection by the Covid-19 the variant of coronavirus. The discovery could lead to antiviral medication and the ability for people to test themselves at home for the presence of the virus. “I am too old to jump on a table,” said cellular biology professor Frank Grosveld to Erasmus Magazine. Their article is undergoing a peer review by other researchers on the online platform BioRxiv, and they believe it well then be published by the top science journal Nature.
A German biotech company has developed coronavirus test kits with 4 million tests since the outbreak began. TIB Molbiol Syntheselabor GmbH is a technology company you probably never heard of. Since 1990, Tib Molbiol, a Berlin, Germany-based biotech company that has developed tests for ailments ranging from swine flu to SARS. Dr Landt and his team have produced 40,000 coronavirus diagnostic kits, enough for about 4 million individual tests.
Gates Foundation Wellcome Trust and Mastercard joined forces to launch a $125 million Therapeutics Accelerator to combat the coronavirus (COVID19) epidemic.  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it is joining forces with Wellcome Trust and Mastercard to create the COVID19 Therapeutics Accelerator to identify, assess, develop, and scale-up treatments to the epidemic.  The goal of the new initiative is to speed the development and access to therapies for COVID-19.
A network of Canadian scientists are making excellent progress in Covid19 research.
A San Diego biotech company is developing a Covid19 vaccine in collaboration with Duke University and the National University of Singapore.
Plasma from newly recovered patients from Covid 19 can treat others infected by Covid19.
1) US Researchers Deliver First COVID-19 Vaccine to Volunteers in Experimental Test Program
Scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle delivered the first rounds of a potential coronavirus a vaccine to several dozen optimistic volunteers earlier this week.

One 43-year-old vaccine recipient is Jennifer Haller, who is a mother to two teenagers.

She was all smiles afterwards, telling AP reporters she was “feeling great” as she was leaving the clinic.

“This is an amazing opportunity for me to do something,” she added.

2) Distilleries Across the United States Are Making Their Own Hand Sanitizers to Give Away for Free
Amidst national shortages of hand sanitizers, alcohol distilleries in Atlanta, Portland, rural Georgia, and North Carolina have begun using their facilities to make their own sanitation products. 
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) says that cleaning your hands with an alcohol-based rub can help to kill viruses on your hands, many of the distilleries say they hope to continue producing their bootleg sanitizers until the virus has been properly contained.

3) Air Pollution Plummets in Cities With High Rates of Quarantine
Satellite readings of air pollution levels over China and Italy show that the regions hit hardest by the COVID-19 have also caused air pollution levels to decline dramatically.


Some reports estimate that China’s quarantine has saved more than 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere—which is about the equivalent of what Chile produces in a year.

Not only have similar effects been reported across Italy, the canals and waterways of Venice are reportedly cleaner than ever with the waters shining crystal clear in the absence of diesel-powered boats and gondoliers.

4) Johns Hopkins Researcher Says That Antibodies From Recovered COVID Patients Could Help Protect People At Risk
The vaccine being tested in Seattle isn’t the only potential treatment for the disease—an immunologist from Johns Hopkins University is reviving a century-old blood-derived treatment for use in the United States in hopes of slowing the spread of the disease.

The technique uses antibodies from the blood plasma or serum of people who have recovered from COVID-19 infection to boost the immunity of newly-infected patients and those at risk of contracting the disease.

5) South Korean Outbreak Finally Abating as Recoveries Outnumber New Infections for Three Days in a Row

According to Reuters, South Korea recorded more COVID-19 recovery cases on March 6th than new infections for the first time since the nation experienced the largest Asian outbreak outside of China.

Since the novel coronavirus outbreak was first reported in South Korea back in January, the nation reached a peak of 909 new infections on February 29th. Now, however, Reuters reports that the declining rate of infection has continued to fall with less than 100 new cases reported for several days in a row.

6) China Celebrates Several Milestones of Recovery After Temporary Hospitals Close and Parks Reopen
Crowds of medical staffers and discharged patients were filmed celebrating the closure of all 14 temporary hospitals that opened in Wuhan to treat COVID-19 patients during the worst of the outbreak.

Authorities told the South China Morning Post this week that the virus had finally passed its peak as the nation’s mainland experienced only 11 new cases on March 13th, most of which were from international travellers.

As the outbreak is finally brought under control, parks and tourist attractions are slowly beginning to reopen to the public under careful moderation.

7) Australian Researchers Testing Two Drugs as Potential ‘Cures’ for the Virus

Professor David Paterson, director of the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research and infectious disease physician at the RBWH.
At the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, scientists have found that two different medications—both of which are registered and available in Australia—have completely wiped out traces of the disease in test tubes.

Not only that, but the drugs were also given to some of the nation’s first COVID-19 patients, which resulted in “disappearance of the virus and complete recovery from the infection,” researchers told 
The university is now looking to conduct a nationwide trial with the drugs to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of each drug administered separately and together.

8) Uber Eats is Supporting the North American Restaurant Industry By Waiving Delivery Fees for 100,000 Restaurants 
As restaurants across Canada and the United States are forced to temporarily shut down amidst COVID-19 outbreaks, Uber Eats has announced that they will be waiving delivery fees for independent restaurants.

“We know the success of every restaurant depends on customer demand,” the company said in a statement. “That’s why we’re working urgently to drive orders towards independent restaurants on Eats, to help make up for the significant slowdown of in-restaurant dining.

NEW Podcast: Daily Inspiring Covid-19 Updates from Good News Gurus Under Quarantine

“As more customers are choosing to stay indoors, we’ve waived the Delivery Fee for the more than 100,000 independent restaurants across the US and Canada on Uber Eats. We will also launch daily dedicated, targeted marketing campaigns—both in-app and via email—to promote delivery from local restaurants, especially those that are new to the app.”

9) Dutch and Canadian Researchers Are Reporting Additional Breakthrough Research on Treating the Virus
Scientists from Canada and the Netherlands have also made medical breakthroughs of their own. In Toronto, a team of researchers managed to isolate the agent responsible for the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, which will help researchers around the world develop better diagnostic testing, treatments, and vaccines. 
“Researchers from these world-class institutions came together in a grassroots way to successfully isolate the virus in just a few short weeks,” said Dr. Rob Kozak, a clinical microbiologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “It demonstrates the amazing things that can happen when we collaborate.” 
Meanwhile, Dutch researchers have submitted a scientific paper for publishing on how they have identified an anti-body for the virus—and it could be a world-first.

10) Here Are a Bunch of Other Ways That People and Businesses Are Supporting Each Other Throughout the US Outbreak

Dollar General has announced that they will be devoting their opening hour of shopping time to elderly customers. Athletes and sports teams are pledging to pay the wages of arena employees during the shutdown. Utility companies, landlords, automakers, and internet providers are waiving a number of late fees and payments to ease the financial burden of the shutdown. School districts across the country are still opening their doors to serve meals to kids and families.


All in all, the pandemic situation may seem grim, but these are just a few examples of how businesses and individuals are still looking out for each other during times of trouble.

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