In the trial, led by a team from Oxford University, about 2,000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone and compared with more than 4,000 who were not.
For patients on ventilators, it cut the risk of death from 40% to 28%.
For patients needing oxygen, it cut the risk of death from 25% to 20%.
Chief investigator Prof Peter Horby said: "This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality - and it reduces it significantly. It's a major breakthrough."
Lead researcher Prof Martin Landray said the findings suggested one life could be saved for:
- every eight patients on a ventilator
- every 20-25 treated with oxygen
"There is a clear, clear benefit," he said.
"The treatment is up to 10 days of dexamethasone and it costs about £5 per patient.
"So essentially it costs £35 to save a life.
"This is a drug that is globally available."
When appropriate, hospital patients should now be given it without delay, Prof Landray said.
But people should not go out and buy it to take at home.
Dexamethasone does not appear to help people with milder symptoms of coronavirus who do not need help with their breathing.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Oxford Uni Boffins find drug effective against serious WuFlu cases
This sounds very promising:
6000 patients in the trial is a good sample size.
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5 comments:
No, no, no, no. The US Department of Health (etc.) says we should take that new drug, Remdesivir. It's only $3100 for a treatment course per patient.
Dr. Fauci and staff wouldn't make this stuff up. Nobody's proven they're corrupt and making money off Remdesivir.
"A recent study published in the Journal of Virus Eradication attempts to analyze the cost of manufacturing remdesivir. The authors looked at the chemical synthesis of the drug and concluded that a 10-day course for one person would cost $9, allowing for 20 percent losses during formulation, plus the cost of the vials, a profit margin, and tax. " From Ars Technica:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/04/who-owns-remdesivir-how-much-can-they-make-and-how-much-does-it-cost/
SiG, the FDA's development and trial process probably cost $1B. That was all privately financed. The drug's price has to cover both the per-unit cost (essentially zero) plus this huge fixed cost.
I regret my sarcasm of Fauci and "Most Exalted Experts" comes across as being anti-pharma.
I LOVE big pharma. Dear Daughter In Law works in drug development. I find it one of the great ironies of life that people are kept alive by drugs that weren't available 20 years ago - and they complain about the price of those drugs. I'm also aware that they're not saints and push bad drugs as well.
My sarcasm of Fauci and the Top Men is that they've repeatedly ignored low cost drugs like this one or the absurdly politicized hydroxychloroquine in favor of only new and relatively untested drugs. That doesn't mean they got accepted without testing, it means no drug gets a much testing as one with 20, 30 or 60 years of being in widespread use gets.
There is nothing new under the sun. Dexamethasone has been tried for treatment of pretty much every serious malady known to medical, and for all I know, veterinary, science. I'm sure this was not just discovered, it is data going back to the first Wuhan case. It does take a while to get sufficient numbers of cases, and to analyze the data. Next phase is arguing about the results and continuing to do more trials for approximately forever. It is of course a very inexpensive and effective drug. I'd say that I'd agree to take it under those circumstances but frankly if you are sick enough to need it you will not be debating its merits. T. Wolter
HQ, Z-pak and Zinc. More than one Doc in more than one country (France, Australia, USA and China) has had amazing results with this combo and yet it still poo-pooed by the TOP MEN, TOP MEN I tell ya.
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