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hailand has reported promising results in the treatment of the 2019 novel #coronavirus 2019-nCoV: combined lopinavir and ritonavir, + oseltamivir. Waiting for research results to confirm. https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/825629-discussion-thread-ii-2019-ncov-new-coronavirus?p=827244#post827244 h/t Treyfish #2019nCoV
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Weeks after the viral outbreak was first reported, a clear vaccine or treatment remains elusive. The desperate search for a cure has thrown up a range of recipes, from traditional Chinese medicine to home-grown boiled garlic.
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Could cocktail therapies for HIV and flu be the magic cure for the new coronavirus? Hospitals in Bangkok and Hangzhou put their combination remedies to the test
Eric Ng
Published: 2:24pm, 4 Feb, 2020
Updated: 2:24pm, 4 Feb, 2020
- Hospitals in Bangkok, and the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou, are reporting successes in reducing viral loads
- They are combining antiviral drugs with treatments for fighting the flu in “cocktail therapies” for treating the new coronavirus
Signs are emerging that a combination therapy involving cocktails of drugs meant for different ailments may be effective in combating the coronavirus outbreak around the world, with different hospitals from Bangkok to Zhejiang reporting cases of patients recovering from the disease.
Some Chinese companies are pulling out all the stops to research and produce antiviral drugs and other pharmaceuticals believed to be effective against the new coronavirus, even as clinical trials are still needed before efficacy can be scientifically proven.
A combination of anti-influenza medication Oseltamivir and HIV drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir have been used on three patients with severe symptoms, according to Thai media reports, citing the Rajavithi Hospital’s director Somkiat Lalitwongsa, in Bangkok. One of the patients, a 71-year-old woman, showed signs of improvement 48 hours after being administered the cocktail of drugs, the reports said.
Similarly in China, three patients diagnosed with the new coronavirus infection recovered after taking Lopinavir and Ritonavir, according to a Monday stock exchange filing by Ascletis Pharma, citing the Henan provincial health commission. Ascletis, the Hong Kong-listed hepatitis drugs producer, said it has received requests from unnamed medical institutions and medical researchers to use its antiviral drug candidate ASC09 in combination with Ritonavir in clinical trials for coronavirus patients.
The new coronavirus, the second viral pandemic to emerge from China since the 2003 Sars outbreak, has infected more than 20,000 people, 99 per cent of which are found across all provinces in mainland China. The death toll stands at 427 cases, or just a little over 2 per cent of those infected, with two deaths outside the mainland while the remainder of the fatalities had been in China.
Weeks after the viral outbreak was first reported, a clear vaccine or treatment remains elusive. The desperate search for a cure has thrown up a range of recipes, from traditional Chinese medicine to home-grown boiled garlic.
Out of this mix, the combination of antiviral drugs and medication for treating flu appear to be showing the most potential. Combination therapy is not a novel concept, as it’s being increasingly used in the treatment of cancer.
“As there is no proven cure for the new coronavirus yet, existing antiviral drugs such as Oseltamivir has been used to treat patients with the coronavirus besides influenza,” said UOB Kay Hian senior health care analyst Carol Dou.
More than 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus patients had turned “negative” after taking Lopinavir and Ritonavir, Ascletis said, citing a preliminary survey by its medical team at several hospitals in Zhejiang province that the company didn’t identify.
A cocktail comprising Ritonavir – used for HIV treatments – and the antiviral drug AS09 showed a 62-fold reduction in viral load in coronavirus patients after 14 days of treatment, Ascletis said, citing a previous phase two clinical trial that was completed offshore, which the company did not specify.
To be sure, Ascletis “cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain approval for, or ultimately market, the Ritonavir and ASC09 combination, successfully,” the Hangzhou-based company said, even though it has been “actively assisting” medical researchers to initiate clinical trials in coronavirus patients. The company’s stock, which has plunged 68 per cent since its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2018, fell by 17 per cent on Tuesday to an intraday low of HK$4.10.
Lopinavir and Ritonavir were developed by Chicago-based Abbvie for treating immunological diseases including HIV.
Ritonavir is not sold in China, and at least two companies are claiming to be making generic versions in the country. Ascletis claims it has developed China’s first generic version of Ritonavir and has applied last August to the National Medical Products Administration for permits to produce and market it.
China Health Group, a Beijing-based pharmaceutical company listed on Hong Kong’s GEM, claimed that its Wanquan Wante Xiamen Pharmaceutical affiliate is the sole Chinese company that has produced raw material for Lopinavir and Ritonavir, according to an exchange filing last Wednesday. An official at Wante said it had no licensing relationship with Abbvie, in a statement to South China Morning Post.
Still, Wante had applied to the government for permission to resume production of the materials, and China Health will invest in clinical research on producing and marketing the drug in China, according to the company’s statement. Wante soared 14-fold since its announcement about the coronavirus business opportunity.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed Yichang HEC Changjiang Pharmaceutical, licensed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche to produce the flu medication Oseltamivir – better known as Tamiflu – in China, has been doing brisk business.
Its sole distributor of the drug, Shanghai-listed Jointown Pharmaceutical Group, sold 1 billion yuan of the drug in January alone, with accumulated sales since September 2019 topping 1.5 billion yuan (US$214 million), according to its disclosure to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday.
Antiviral drugs are not the only drug used for other diseases being tried on patients infected by the coronavirus.
Tongfang Kontafarma Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed producer of cement clinker, said its chloroquine phosphate – used for treating malaria – has been tested and proven to have “certain curative effect” in combating the coronavirus, according to its filing to the exchange, citing the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Chongqing municipal government.
Tongfang said it was told by the authorities to “promptly resume” producing the pharmaceutical ingredient, even as other companies whad been barred from resuming operations at least until February 10, amid a general lockdown of facilities to observe a state-ordered quarantine of affected areas. Its production has resumed at Tongfang's subsidiary Chongqing Kangle Pharmaceutical, Tongfang said, without giving volume and financial details.
Tongfang shares closed the morning trading session up 51.5 per cent at 20 HK cents after surging as much as 135 per cent.