Coronavirus Vaccine On The Way?

[AlaCowboy]

Just saw this story.


Work done at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has led to the investigational drug remdesivir, which is now being used to treat select infected patients in the United States and China who have been afflicted with novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

As outlined by UAB, remdesivir was developed through research conducted through the Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center, or AD3C, which is coordinated out of the Birmingham university.

A release from UAB explained that the drug discovery came from a public-private partnership that also included Birmingham-based Southern Research and the pharmaceutical company Gilead Science. The work was funded by a federal grant awarded to UAB after U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) became chair of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.


UAB detailed the following:

Remdesivir, developed to treat the coronavirus causing MERS, was found to have significant activity against the 2019-nCoV strain when the outbreak began in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Importantly, remdesivir had demonstrated efficacy in treating other medically important coronaviruses MERS and SARS in cell culture and animal models. Based on the compassionate plea requests of treating physicians in the United States, Gilead Sciences released remdesivir for use in a few patients, although the drug has not yet been tested for safety or efficacy in these diseases.

“The release of remdesivir for safety and efficacy studies is a major accomplishment for the AD3C – namely the U19 grant – as it shows significant and swift advance of antiviral drugs to help treat and respond to emerging infectious disease outbreaks on an international scale and, importantly, to anticipate the introduction of these infections in the United States,” stated Richard Whitley, M.D., distinguished professor at UAB and principal investigator of the grant that led to the discovery.


Richard Shelby
✔
@senshelby
Incredible that @uabnews has developed a drug used to treat select patients infected with the Coronavirus - both in the US and in China. This potential treatment is the result of research occurring in Alabama & could help save thousands around the world. www.uab.edu/news/health/item/11082-investigational-compound-remdesivir-developed-by-uab-and-nih-researchers-being-used-for-treatment-of-novel-coronavirus …


Investigational compound remdesivir, developed by UAB and NIH researchers, being used for treatment...
Research conducted at UAB is reaching the front lines of treatment of the novel coronavirus.

uab.edu
110
8:52 AM - Feb 27, 2020
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This kind of groundbreaking research spearheaded by UAB is a prime example of why many legislative and industry leaders in the state, especially in the Birmingham area, are calling on Governor Kay Ivey to fund a world-class genomics facility at the university. They argue that the project could make Birmingham the “Silicon Valley of Biomedicine.”

Read more about that project and its importance here.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

[Deleted]

"............ the drug has not yet been tested for safety or efficacy in these diseases."

No testing on animals first?  I'm not volunteering to take it. 

[cbisbig]

Thats great news.

[AlaCowboy]

Here is an update on my original post on this. Not a vaccine, but a treatment.

www.al.com/news/2020/04/early-but-promising-results-for-coronavirus-drug-developed-at-uab.html

By Amy Yurkanin | [e-mail]
Results of a small study of very ill COVID-19 patients showed promising outcomes for a potential treatment developed through research centered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

More than two-thirds of the 53 patients who received the drug remdesivir showed improvement, according to an article published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Seven of the patients died.

Results of larger controlled trials underway at several sites around the world haven’t yet been published. The information published by the New England Journal of Medicine represents the best data to date on the effectiveness of the antiviral treatment, according to the article. The patients came from across the globe, with 22 in the U.S., 22 in Europe or Canada and nine in Japan.

But the study does have several limitations. It only included a small number of patients who received the treatment through Gilead Sciences’ compassionate use program, which makes investigational drugs available to critically ill patients. It was also funded by the drug company.

Most of the patients who received remdesivir were already on ventilators when they started the 10-day course. The study did not compare treated patients with those who did not receive the drug.

However, the authors wrote that the 13 percent mortality rate was noteworthy because the patients enrolled in the study were so severely ill when they received remdesivir. Mortality rates for other studies of hospitalized patients in China ranged from 17 to 78 percent, according to the article.

“While the outcomes observed in this compassionate use analysis are encouraging, the data are limited,” said Dr. Merdad Parsey, Chief Medical Officer for Gilead Sciences. “Gilead has multiple clinical trials underway for remdesivir with initial data expected in the coming weeks. Our goal is to add to the growing body of evidence as quickly as possible to more fully evaluate the potential of remdesivir and, if appropriate, support broader use of this investigational drug.”

No new safety concerns arose during the study. Remdesivir has been found to cause some problems with liver and kidney function in the past.

UAB is one of 75 clinical trial sites for remdesivir, which launched on March 25. That study will compare outcomes for hospitalized patients receiving the drug with those who get a placebo. It will include hundreds of patients and should provide a better picture of remdesivir’s effectiveness and side affects.

Remdesivir was initially developed as a potential treatment for Ebola through UAB’s Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center. It has shown promise in animal and laboratory studies against COVID-19.

[Walter]

Apr 13, 2020 22:42:44 GMT -5 AlaCowboy said:

Here is an update on my original post on this. Not a vaccine, but a treatment.

www.al.com/news/2020/04/early-but-promising-results-for-coronavirus-drug-developed-at-uab.html

By Amy Yurkanin | [e-mail]
Results of a small study of very ill COVID-19 patients showed promising outcomes for a potential treatment developed through research centered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

More than two-thirds of the 53 patients who received the drug remdesivir showed improvement, according to an article published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Seven of the patients died.

Results of larger controlled trials underway at several sites around the world haven’t yet been published. The information published by the New England Journal of Medicine represents the best data to date on the effectiveness of the antiviral treatment, according to the article. The patients came from across the globe, with 22 in the U.S., 22 in Europe or Canada and nine in Japan.

But the study does have several limitations. It only included a small number of patients who received the treatment through Gilead Sciences’ compassionate use program, which makes investigational drugs available to critically ill patients. It was also funded by the drug company.

Most of the patients who received remdesivir were already on ventilators when they started the 10-day course. The study did not compare treated patients with those who did not receive the drug.

However, the authors wrote that the 13 percent mortality rate was noteworthy because the patients enrolled in the study were so severely ill when they received remdesivir. Mortality rates for other studies of hospitalized patients in China ranged from 17 to 78 percent, according to the article.

“While the outcomes observed in this compassionate use analysis are encouraging, the data are limited,” said Dr. Merdad Parsey, Chief Medical Officer for Gilead Sciences. “Gilead has multiple clinical trials underway for remdesivir with initial data expected in the coming weeks. Our goal is to add to the growing body of evidence as quickly as possible to more fully evaluate the potential of remdesivir and, if appropriate, support broader use of this investigational drug.”

No new safety concerns arose during the study. Remdesivir has been found to cause some problems with liver and kidney function in the past.

UAB is one of 75 clinical trial sites for remdesivir, which launched on March 25. That study will compare outcomes for hospitalized patients receiving the drug with those who get a placebo. It will include hundreds of patients and should provide a better picture of remdesivir’s effectiveness and side affects.

Remdesivir was initially developed as a potential treatment for Ebola through UAB’s Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center. It has shown promise in animal and laboratory studies against COVID-19.

In many ways a treatment is a bigger deal than a vaccine.

[canefan]

Apr 14, 2020 8:51:47 GMT -5 Walter said:

Apr 13, 2020 22:42:44 GMT -5 AlaCowboy said:

Here is an update on my original post on this. Not a vaccine, but a treatment.

www.al.com/news/2020/04/early-but-promising-results-for-coronavirus-drug-developed-at-uab.html

By Amy Yurkanin | [e-mail]
Results of a small study of very ill COVID-19 patients showed promising outcomes for a potential treatment developed through research centered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

More than two-thirds of the 53 patients who received the drug remdesivir showed improvement, according to an article published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Seven of the patients died.

Results of larger controlled trials underway at several sites around the world haven’t yet been published. The information published by the New England Journal of Medicine represents the best data to date on the effectiveness of the antiviral treatment, according to the article. The patients came from across the globe, with 22 in the U.S., 22 in Europe or Canada and nine in Japan.

But the study does have several limitations. It only included a small number of patients who received the treatment through Gilead Sciences’ compassionate use program, which makes investigational drugs available to critically ill patients. It was also funded by the drug company.

Most of the patients who received remdesivir were already on ventilators when they started the 10-day course. The study did not compare treated patients with those who did not receive the drug.

However, the authors wrote that the 13 percent mortality rate was noteworthy because the patients enrolled in the study were so severely ill when they received remdesivir. Mortality rates for other studies of hospitalized patients in China ranged from 17 to 78 percent, according to the article.

“While the outcomes observed in this compassionate use analysis are encouraging, the data are limited,” said Dr. Merdad Parsey, Chief Medical Officer for Gilead Sciences. “Gilead has multiple clinical trials underway for remdesivir with initial data expected in the coming weeks. Our goal is to add to the growing body of evidence as quickly as possible to more fully evaluate the potential of remdesivir and, if appropriate, support broader use of this investigational drug.”

No new safety concerns arose during the study. Remdesivir has been found to cause some problems with liver and kidney function in the past.

UAB is one of 75 clinical trial sites for remdesivir, which launched on March 25. That study will compare outcomes for hospitalized patients receiving the drug with those who get a placebo. It will include hundreds of patients and should provide a better picture of remdesivir’s effectiveness and side affects.

Remdesivir was initially developed as a potential treatment for Ebola through UAB’s Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center. It has shown promise in animal and laboratory studies against COVID-19.

In many ways a treatment is a bigger deal than a vaccine.

Immediate need for certain.