Argentina: Severe COVID-19 patients treated with CoviFab horse serum show 90% less ICU need

[peppertree]

Authorities from the Argentine pharmaceutical firm Inmunova released data today showing a 90% reduction in the need for intensive care in patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms who were treated with the firm's CoviFab equine serum.

Inmunova reported that 90% of 1805 COVID-19 patients as of April 26th - including 80% who had pneumonia and required oxygen - no longer required intensive care after treatment with CoviFab.

Fewer than 10% of the treated patients required Mechanical Respiratory Assistance (MRA), and the mortality rate observed among them was 8.9%.

Findings published in The Lancet's EClinicalMedicine journal on April 12th, among 245 patients in clinical trials from August through October 2020, a 44.5% mortality decline in severe cases was seen compared to the placebo group - as well as an improvement in recovery times.

Since its approval for public use by Argentina's FDA counterpart, ANMAT, in January, CoviFab equine serum has been used for over 3,000 Argentine COVID-19 patients in 54 hospitals in 17 provinces - predominantly severe cases.

“The use of treatment has increased dramatically,” Dr. Fernando Goldbaum, founding partner and scientific director at Inmunova, noted.

“We register its administration to 100 new patients every day. Buenos Aires Province (the nation's largest) distributes them in a massive way through its public hospitals, and in Córdoba it is beginning to be used on a greater scale.”

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/340700-el-exito-del-suero-equino-avanza-al-galope

Dr. Fernando Goldbaum, of the Argentine pharmaceutical firm Inmunova, studies a Petri dish with a fellow researcher in January.

Since Argentina's approval of Inmunova's CoviFab horse serum that month, over 3,000 mainly severe COVID-19 patients nationwide have received the treatment - with most showing substantial improvement.

The country is nevertheless struggling with 260,000 active cases - with around 20,000 new cases and 433 deaths daily.

[dweller]

1. Wasn't this discussed early on

in the pandemic, along with COVID antibody treatments ?
🤔

✌🏻

[peppertree]

2. That it was. Clinical trials started in August - and its use was approved (in Argentina) in January

The results thus far have been very positive - but it remains to be seen if Big Pharma will allow its use in U.S., Europe, and elsewhere.

I do hope the FDA at least lets the approval process start on this. If U.S. studies don't show the same results, so be it - but if they do, this really should be made available worldwide to any moderate/severe patients who want it.

[dweller]

3. Horse serum was used before

For vaccine therapy for diphtheria, scarlet fever and tetanus

✌🏻

[peppertree]

4. Well, there you have it.

Its showing positive results thus far on Covid patients makes sense in that context.

Sounds promising (but will Big Pharma allow it?).

[Patterson]

5. Is this ivermectin?

[peppertree]

6. That would be an antiparasitic medicine, whereas this is antibody-rich serum

Horses, you see, produce massive amounts of antibodies when exposed to Covid or other viruses.

Because equine serum has been used to treat other viruses, it's been seen as promising against Covid from early on in this crisis.

Argentina, that I know of, is the only country in which clinical trials were actually carried out on it.

(we have the more effective Regeneron - but as Trump could tell you, it's available only to an elite few)

EClinicalMedicine - published by The Lancet - corroborated the positive results seen in the Argentine clinical trials from last August-October, in an April article.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589537021001231

And this report from Inmunova, on large-scale patient responses, appears to further corroborate it.

[Patterson]

7. Thank you. That's interesting.

[peppertree]

8. You're welcome.

Here's hoping it works, as it has so far.