What? I mean the design on the blanket...
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[News] The Coronavirus Good News thread
- Thread starter Bozza
- Start date
What? I mean the design on the blanket...
[tweet]1250690146556612614[/tweet]
ManOfSussex
We wunt be druv
14 minutes in. Wow.
Fignon's Ponytail
Well-known member
*Gullsworth*
My Hair is like his hair
14 million Tom's Total now
As per the main coronavirus thread, if you look at the actual date of death, rather than the figures being reported (based on registration) we're actually well past the peak already, which was on 8th April.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-daily-deaths/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-daily-deaths/
Uter
Well-known member
Hydroxychloroquine is getting most of the publicity, but there are lots of clinical trials starting up using other existing therapies to combat COVID-19. Most seem to be focusing on preventing the "cytokine storm" that often leads to fatalities.
Hopefully some of these will prove their worth and clinicians will soon have a range of products that can be used to make a dent in the mortality rates and help return life to normal prior to a vaccine being available.
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma...lquence-covid-19-after-nih-sees-some-clinical
AstraZeneca to test blood cancer drug Calquence in COVID-19 after NIH sees 'some clinical benefit'
AstraZeneca will launch a clinical trial of blood cancer drug Calquence in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 after receiving news of early signs of clinical benefit from the NIH. (AstraZeneca)
Add another drugmaker to the list of those repurposing existing meds for COVID-19. AstraZeneca is now trying to turn a blood cancer drug against dangerous immune complications in seriously ill patients.
In what's been labeled the fastest launch of a clinical trial in the history of AstraZeneca, the British pharma will start testing Calquence to examine its effects on the potentially lethal immune overreaction storm associated with COVID-19 infection. The drug is currently approved in the U.S. for mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
The decision comes after researchers at the NIH’s National Cancer Institute observed “some clinical benefit” of the drug’s use in a small number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with advanced lung disease at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, according to Forbes.
As the body’s immune system fights the novel coronavirus, the reaction can spin out of control in a phenomenon known as cytokine storm, which can cause serious lung damage.
Previous studies suggest that BTK, the oncogenic protein Calquence targets, is also a key regulator of the production of multiple inflammatory molecules in the lung. Therefore, BTK inhibition could theoretically reduce the release of these cytokines and dampen an excessive immune response. In real life, blood cancer patients who got BTK inhibitors also experienced decreased proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, according to AstraZeneca.
The new trial, dubbed Calavi, will be conducted in two parts. The first will test Calquence on top of the current standard of care in patients who are hospitalized but not on ventilation or in intensive care. The second part will evaluate the regimen in critically ill patients in ICU. Because Calquence comes as a capsule, for those patients already on ventilators, AZ’s advising doctors to give the drug in a liquid solution made up of Coca-Cola to utilize the beverage’s acid property, according to Forbes.
The hope is to demonstrate that Calquence “reduces the need to place patients on ventilators and improves their chances or survival,” José Baselga, AstraZeneca’s oncology R&D chief, said in a statement on Tuesday. Baselga told Forbes that the company completed drafting the trial protocol and submitted it to the FDA within three days of receiving early evidence from NCI, setting a new record for the fastest launch of a clinical trial in the company's history.
The trial is expected to start enrolling patients in the coming days in the U.S. and several countries in Europe, AZ said.
As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across the globe, biopharma companies have been busy looking for inspiration from existing drugs in the absence of an approved treatment—and Calquence isn’t the first cancer med that’s been redirected that way.
Last week, Karyopharm Therapeutics said it would test its own blood cancer drug Xpovio—recently approved by the FDA to treat advanced patients with multiple myeloma—in severe COVID-19 patients. The drug blocks the protein XPO1, which the Massachusetts biotech said plays important roles in both the interaction of several viruses with host cells and the activities of pro-inflammatory molecules. Therefore, Karyopharm argues, it holds promise as a blocker of both viral replication and immune-related injury.
Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica leads Calquence as the current market leader in the BTK class. “We have received and reviewed proposals to conduct exploratory research studies to evaluate [Imbruvica] for the treatment of patients with moderate or severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalization,” a spokesperson for J&J's Janssen said in a statement to FiercePharma. “The investigators and institutions sponsoring the studies are in the process of registering the trials with the [FDA].” The spokesperson also stressed that the company's “first priority is to the patients living with B cell malignancies and chronic graft-versus host disease where [Imbruvica] is approved by health authorities,” as well as other ongoing clinical trials. BeiGene recently won an FDA nod for in-class competitor Brukinsa, and clinical data suggest it’s a safer option than Imbruvica.
In addition, Roche has also launched a clinical trial of its anti-inflammatory med Actemra to assess its potential in managing cytokine storm in COVID-19 after anecdotal efficacy stories from China, and its IL-6 inhibitor rival—Sanofi and Regeneron’s Kevzara—is also in two studies in the U.S. and Europe.
Eli Lilly, meanwhile, is enlisting its rheumatoid arthritis drug Olumiant in a master trial run by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, hoping that the drug’s “anti-inflammatory activity” by way of blocking JAK could also be beneficial for patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Hopefully some of these will prove their worth and clinicians will soon have a range of products that can be used to make a dent in the mortality rates and help return life to normal prior to a vaccine being available.
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma...lquence-covid-19-after-nih-sees-some-clinical
AstraZeneca to test blood cancer drug Calquence in COVID-19 after NIH sees 'some clinical benefit'
AstraZeneca will launch a clinical trial of blood cancer drug Calquence in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 after receiving news of early signs of clinical benefit from the NIH. (AstraZeneca)
Add another drugmaker to the list of those repurposing existing meds for COVID-19. AstraZeneca is now trying to turn a blood cancer drug against dangerous immune complications in seriously ill patients.
In what's been labeled the fastest launch of a clinical trial in the history of AstraZeneca, the British pharma will start testing Calquence to examine its effects on the potentially lethal immune overreaction storm associated with COVID-19 infection. The drug is currently approved in the U.S. for mantle cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
The decision comes after researchers at the NIH’s National Cancer Institute observed “some clinical benefit” of the drug’s use in a small number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with advanced lung disease at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, according to Forbes.
As the body’s immune system fights the novel coronavirus, the reaction can spin out of control in a phenomenon known as cytokine storm, which can cause serious lung damage.
Previous studies suggest that BTK, the oncogenic protein Calquence targets, is also a key regulator of the production of multiple inflammatory molecules in the lung. Therefore, BTK inhibition could theoretically reduce the release of these cytokines and dampen an excessive immune response. In real life, blood cancer patients who got BTK inhibitors also experienced decreased proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, according to AstraZeneca.
The new trial, dubbed Calavi, will be conducted in two parts. The first will test Calquence on top of the current standard of care in patients who are hospitalized but not on ventilation or in intensive care. The second part will evaluate the regimen in critically ill patients in ICU. Because Calquence comes as a capsule, for those patients already on ventilators, AZ’s advising doctors to give the drug in a liquid solution made up of Coca-Cola to utilize the beverage’s acid property, according to Forbes.
The hope is to demonstrate that Calquence “reduces the need to place patients on ventilators and improves their chances or survival,” José Baselga, AstraZeneca’s oncology R&D chief, said in a statement on Tuesday. Baselga told Forbes that the company completed drafting the trial protocol and submitted it to the FDA within three days of receiving early evidence from NCI, setting a new record for the fastest launch of a clinical trial in the company's history.
The trial is expected to start enrolling patients in the coming days in the U.S. and several countries in Europe, AZ said.
As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across the globe, biopharma companies have been busy looking for inspiration from existing drugs in the absence of an approved treatment—and Calquence isn’t the first cancer med that’s been redirected that way.
Last week, Karyopharm Therapeutics said it would test its own blood cancer drug Xpovio—recently approved by the FDA to treat advanced patients with multiple myeloma—in severe COVID-19 patients. The drug blocks the protein XPO1, which the Massachusetts biotech said plays important roles in both the interaction of several viruses with host cells and the activities of pro-inflammatory molecules. Therefore, Karyopharm argues, it holds promise as a blocker of both viral replication and immune-related injury.
Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica leads Calquence as the current market leader in the BTK class. “We have received and reviewed proposals to conduct exploratory research studies to evaluate [Imbruvica] for the treatment of patients with moderate or severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalization,” a spokesperson for J&J's Janssen said in a statement to FiercePharma. “The investigators and institutions sponsoring the studies are in the process of registering the trials with the [FDA].” The spokesperson also stressed that the company's “first priority is to the patients living with B cell malignancies and chronic graft-versus host disease where [Imbruvica] is approved by health authorities,” as well as other ongoing clinical trials. BeiGene recently won an FDA nod for in-class competitor Brukinsa, and clinical data suggest it’s a safer option than Imbruvica.
In addition, Roche has also launched a clinical trial of its anti-inflammatory med Actemra to assess its potential in managing cytokine storm in COVID-19 after anecdotal efficacy stories from China, and its IL-6 inhibitor rival—Sanofi and Regeneron’s Kevzara—is also in two studies in the U.S. and Europe.
Eli Lilly, meanwhile, is enlisting its rheumatoid arthritis drug Olumiant in a master trial run by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, hoping that the drug’s “anti-inflammatory activity” by way of blocking JAK could also be beneficial for patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Starting next week, Sweden will start doing some initial antibody tests:
The last trials are now being done at a hospital called Sunderby sjukhus and if nothing dramatic happens, they will be starting to do 270 tests a day sometime early next week.
"It seems to be working well. The sensitivity could be a bit better, but at least it wont show any false positive tests, which is the most important thing", says disease control doctor Anders Nyberg.
The last trials are now being done at a hospital called Sunderby sjukhus and if nothing dramatic happens, they will be starting to do 270 tests a day sometime early next week.
"It seems to be working well. The sensitivity could be a bit better, but at least it wont show any false positive tests, which is the most important thing", says disease control doctor Anders Nyberg.
Message from junior tonight.....
Very weird around here, [her hospital] hasn't opened any more wards and current CV wards are still at only 50% of capacity, only 6 people in ITU... So no increase in hospitalised patients for over a week now, had 2 days in a row with no deaths too...
Very weird around here, [her hospital] hasn't opened any more wards and current CV wards are still at only 50% of capacity, only 6 people in ITU... So no increase in hospitalised patients for over a week now, had 2 days in a row with no deaths too...
Weststander
Well-known member
Similarly, at Worthing Hospital all the wards cleared for covid-19 cases, sit there empty week after week. Specially trained staff in readiness.
milliepops
Active member
As of 5pm today 11 patients in ICU and 41 patients on the Covid wards across Worthing and Chichester hospitals.
Weststander
Well-known member
Out of 950 beds.
Family work on the Worthing wards every day. The converted wards from other medical uses, lie empty. They were expecting 100’s of covid patients, luckily, so far it never materialised.
milliepops
Active member
Assume it means West Sussex is not as affected by the virus as much as other areas of the country. Think the rate of the virus in the county is 3% which is low compared to other areas.
Whether that is down to luck, adhering to the lockdown or the sea air who knows?!
Good news though, apparently they are thinking of reinstating some of their clinics, routine surgeries etc in the near future.
Whether that is down to luck, adhering to the lockdown or the sea air who knows?!
Good news though, apparently they are thinking of reinstating some of their clinics, routine surgeries etc in the near future.
Weststander
Well-known member
So far, London, the West Midlands and Manchester seem to be the hotspots in England.
highflyer
Well-known member
- Jan 21, 2016
- 2,553
Good to hear that hospitals in Sussex (and elsewhere I believe) have not been over-run. Some time in late March, as it was becoming apparent just what we were in for, I heard someone (I think an epidemiologist) asked what success would look like and he said 'it will look like an over-reaction'.
Anyway - some postive news and lots of really interesting information here:
https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-cases-fall
Key headline is that it seems that predicted symptomatic case numbers are falling fast (down 71% from 1st to 15th April) and this should translate over the next three weeks into very significant drops in hospitalization and deaths. Also interesting that London is no longer a 'hotspot' in terms of likely new cases and will be interesting to know if this is, in part, because of emerging 'herd immunity' there.
What the data shows above all is that the lock down is working well, and if we continue another three weeks we should be in a pretty good position to start the process of re-opening (very, very carefully). There is also an interesting webinar on the website where they discuss the use of the tracking app to help manage the risk of a second wave, as it can highlight emerging hotspots early. It seems to me that if you had 10 -20 million people using the app daily it could become one of the strongest tools we have to manage this until a treatment/vaccine emerges.
Anyway - some postive news and lots of really interesting information here:
https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-cases-fall
Key headline is that it seems that predicted symptomatic case numbers are falling fast (down 71% from 1st to 15th April) and this should translate over the next three weeks into very significant drops in hospitalization and deaths. Also interesting that London is no longer a 'hotspot' in terms of likely new cases and will be interesting to know if this is, in part, because of emerging 'herd immunity' there.
What the data shows above all is that the lock down is working well, and if we continue another three weeks we should be in a pretty good position to start the process of re-opening (very, very carefully). There is also an interesting webinar on the website where they discuss the use of the tracking app to help manage the risk of a second wave, as it can highlight emerging hotspots early. It seems to me that if you had 10 -20 million people using the app daily it could become one of the strongest tools we have to manage this until a treatment/vaccine emerges.
Absolutely.
Also worth mentioning on here that the app now allows people to give backdated info on symptoms, which is very useful for me and many others who had symptoms in Feb/Mar.