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Well, the good news is that hospitals are finally using another drug to treat COVID aside from the failed remdesivir . The bad news is that this drug comes with a rare FDA “black box” warning of causing blood clots and also costs a fortune. Why is it that our government trashes every cheap, safe outpatient therapeutic that has been used for decades without problems, but only approves expensive therapeutics that cause blood clots or renal failure (in the case of remdesivir)? This is the ultimate case of therapeutic nihilism.
Last November the FDA quietly gamed emergency authorization use to baricitinib, a drug used for acute rheumatoid arthritis, which is produced by Eli Lilly under the brand name Olumiant. The specific authorization is for COVID patients requiring supplemental oxygen , non-invasive mechanical ventilation, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Unlike remdesivir, baricitinib is an anti-inflammatory Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, which helps ratchet down pro-inflammatory cytokines. As such, it’s very likely that it does have more efficacy during the inflammatory stage than the worthless remdesivir. The problem is that it comes with an FDA black box warning about causing blood clots, the very condition you are trying to treat at the critical stages of COVID illness. Here is the warning on blood clots: Thrombosis: Thrombosis, including deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), has been observed at an increased incidence in patients treated with Olumiant compared to placebo. In addition, there were cases of arterial thrombosis. Many of these adverse events were serious and some resulted in death. Patients with symptoms of thrombosis should be promptly evaluated. Pulmonary embolism is literally the most delicate condition intensivists must deal with when treating COVID patients in the ICU. It’s liking fighting a fire with a blowtorch!
At the beginning of the month, the FDA announced it was updating its warnings because drugs like “Olumiant and Rinvoq have not been studied in trials similar to the large safety clinical trial with Xeljanz, so the risks have not been adequately evaluated.” However, because it has the same mechanism of action, it is suspected […]
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They’re Trying to Shut Us Down
Over the last several months, I’ve lost count of how many times the powers-that-be have tried to shut us down. They’ve sent hackers at us, forcing us to take extreme measures on web security. They sent attorneys after us, but thankfully we’re not easily intimidated by baseless accusations or threats. They’ve even gone so far as to make physical threats. Those can actually be a bit worrisome but Remington has me covered.
For us to continue to deliver the truth that Americans need to read and hear, we ask you, our amazing audience, for financial assistance. We have a Giving Fuel page to help us pay the bills. It’s brand new so don’t be discouraged by the lack of donations there. It’s a funny reality that the fewer the donations that have been made, the less likely people are willing to donate to it. One would think this is counterintuitive, but sometimes people are skeptical because they think that perhaps there’s a reason others haven’t been donating. In our situation, we’re just getting started so please don’t be shy if you have the means to help.
Thank you and God bless!
JD Rucker
