coronavirus-treatment | ABS-CBN News

Leprosy drug clofazimine effective in suppressing COVID-19, researchers find

Elizabeth Cheung, South China Morning Post
Posted at Mar 17 01:13 PM

HKU infectious diseases expert Yuen Kwok-yung describes the finding as ‘exciting’ but says more work will be needed to ascertain the drug’s use. Combating COVID-19 with clofazimine and remdesivir can further boost recovery, researchers write in the international scientific journal Nature. Read more »

Oral COVID treatment yields promising trial data: drugmakers

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Mar 07 07:36 AM

SAN FRANCISCO - German pharmaceutical giant Merck and a US partner reported promising results Saturday in trials of a drug administered orally to fight COVID-19, saying it helps reduce patients' viral load.  Read more »

Roche, Sanofi arthritis drugs reduce death rates among sickest COVID-19 patients

Kate Kelland, Reuters
Posted at Jan 08 03:13 AM

LONDON - Treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with Roche's Actemra or Sanofi's Kevzara arthritis drugs significantly improves survival rates and reduces the amount of time patients need intensive care, study results showed on Thursday. Read more »

WHO: Nations mulling Gilead's COVID drug should consider trial flop, too

Stephanie Nebehay and John Miller, Reuters
Posted at Oct 24 04:52 AM

GENEVA/ZURICH - Health officials reviewing Gilead Science Inc's remdesivir against COVID-19 should consider all evidence, including a trial where the medicine failed, before giving it the green light, the top WHO scientist said on Friday. Read more »

Gilead's remdesivir gets US FDA approval for hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Deena Beasley, Reuters
Posted at Oct 23 05:58 AM

The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir for treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19, making it the first and only drug approved for the disease in the United States. Read more »

Row breaks out over WHO trial casting doubt on remdesivir as COVID-19 drug

John Miller and Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters
Posted at Oct 17 05:39 AM

ZURICH/GENEVA - A row broke out on Friday over a World Health Organization (WHO) clinical trial which concluded that the anti-viral drug remdesivir has little or no impact on a patient's chances of surviving COVID-19. Read more »

Remdesivir fails to prevent COVID-19 deaths in huge trial

Katherine J. Wu and Gina Kolata, The New York Times
Posted at Oct 16 04:08 PM

Remdesivir, the only antiviral drug authorized for treatment of COVID-19 in the United States, fails to prevent deaths among patients, according to a study of more than 11,000 people in 30 countries sponsored by the World Health Organization.   Read more »

Gilead's remdesivir shaved 5 days off COVID-19 recovery time, reduced risk of death in some

Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters
Posted at Oct 09 06:19 AM

CHICAGO - Final data from Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir showed the treatment cut COVID-19 recovery time by five days compared with patients who got a placebo, one day faster than indicated in preliminary data, the company and researchers said on Thursday. Read more »

Lilly's rheumatoid arthritis drug cuts COVID-19 deaths in trial, data shows

Reuters
Posted at Oct 09 03:15 AM

Lilly said the effect was most pronounced in patients on oxygen therapy, according to data from a US government-backed trial, which however, was not designed to measure the effectiveness of baricitinib in preventing death. Read more »

Mother’s milk could help fight coronavirus, study finds

Stephen Chen in Beijing, South China Morning Post
Posted at Sep 28 01:53 PM

Mother’s milk could prevent or treat COVID-19, according to a new study by Chinese scientists. Read more »

European drugs agency endorses steroid for COVID treatment

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Sep 19 05:56 AM

PARIS - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday endorsed use of the steroid dexamethasone to treat oxygen-starved patients of COVID-19. Read more »

How the coronavirus attacks the brain

Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times
Posted at Sep 10 08:16 AM

The coronavirus targets the lungs foremost, but also the kidneys, liver and blood vessels. Still, about half of patients report neurological symptoms, including headaches, confusion and delirium, suggesting the virus may also attack the brain.   Read more »

Progress, hope in treatment of severe coronavirus cases

Paul Ricard and Ivan Couronne, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Sep 09 04:30 AM

PARIS- Doctors are now able to treat severe cases of the coronavirus much better than when the pandemic began, which could save many lives, experts in France and the United States said. Read more »

Japan startup to begin human clinical tests for COVID-19 drug in 2021

Kyodo News
Posted at Aug 25 05:16 PM

TOKYO - A biotechnology startup in southwestern Japan said Tuesday it will start human clinical trials for a drug to treat COVID-19 in 2021. Read more »

US health official apologizes for touting false plasma data

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Aug 25 01:39 PM

WASHINGTON - Dr Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, apologized Monday after misrepresenting a key statistic on how effective blood plasma is for treating COVID-19 when announcing an emergency approval measure.  Read more »

US announces approval of plasma treatment against virus

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Aug 24 07:16 AM

American authorities announced on Sunday an emergency approval of blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients as a treatment against the disease that has killed over 176,000 in the US.   Read more »

Philippines begins 9-month clinical trials on Avigan

Kyodo News
Posted at Aug 19 05:14 PM

A total of P18 million ($366,000) has been allocated by the Philippine government for the clinical trials. Read more »

Traditional Chinese medicine vs COVID-19 needs more study: doctor

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Aug 13 08:28 AM

A traditional medicine used in China to treat patients with the novel coronavirus needs further study, a doctor said Thursday, after regulators approved the drug’s sale in the Philippines. Read more »

Philippines receives Avigan tablets from Japan to be used for clinical trials

Davinci Maru, ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Aug 07 04:21 PM

The Japanese government on Thursday provided the Philippines anti-flu drug Avigan tablets as the latter conducts clinical trials for possible COVID-19 treatment.   Read more »

Philippines keen on herbal medicine as possible supplemental treatment to COVID-19

Arianne Merez, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Aug 04 04:47 PM

The government said Tuesday it was keen on tapping herbal medicine as possible supplement treatment for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with three clinical trials underway.   Read more »