Apr 11, 2020 04:54 AM
(This post was last modified: Apr 11, 2020 05:49 AM by C C.)
Would-be coronavirus drugs are cheap to make
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/...cheap-make
INTRO: With a vaccine for the novel coronavirus still likely a year or more away, the first weapon against the virus could be one of the drugs now in clinical trials with COVID-19 patients. A new analysis out today shows that many of these drugs, which are currently manufactured or in development to treat other diseases, can be made for $1 a day per patient, or less. If any prove effective against the novel coronavirus, a coordinated international effort will be needed to ensure they are made affordable for people worldwide, the researchers argue... (MORE)
Next potential shortage: Drugs needed to run ventilators
https://apnews.com/644302ec76172aafbedb00a2626358bc
INTRO: As hospitals scour the country for scarce ventilators to treat critically ill patients stricken by the new coronavirus, pharmacists are beginning to sound an alarm that could become just as urgent: Drugs that go hand in hand with ventilators are running low even as demand is surging.
Michael Ganio, of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, said demand for the drugs at greater New York hospitals has spiked as much as 600% over the last month, even though hospitals have stopped using them for elective surgery. “These ventilators will be rendered useless without an adequate supply of the medications,” Society CEO Paul Abramowitz said in an April 1 letter to Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force.
Nationwide, demand for the drugs surged 73% in March, according Dan Kistner, a pharmaceuticals expert at Vizient, Inc., which negotiates drug prices for hospitals throughout the country. Supplies, according to Vizient data, have not kept pace. “Trying to run the ventilators without these drugs will be like trying to operate a fleet of cars without gasoline,” Kistner said.
To date, no hospital has reported being unable to put a patient on a ventilator due to a lack of those drugs, said Soumi Saha, a pharmaceuticals expert at Premiere, Inc., which also negotiates drug prices for hospitals.
When clinicians put critically-ill patients on ventilators, they generally rely on three categories of drugs: sedatives, pain killers and, at times, paralytics. “You have a tube basically down your throat to help you breathe,” explained Chris Fortier, the chief pharmacy officer at Massachusetts General Hospital. “We need medications to sedate you and treat your pain, and sometimes to even give you some paralysis so that you’re not pulling on that ventilator and damaging your lungs.”
The demand is surging because hospitals across the country are trying to stock up at the same time, said Erin Fox, director of the drug-information service at University of Utah Health, which runs five hospitals. “I’m just terrified that we’re not going to have the medicines we need,” Fox said. “It keeps me up at night.”
Fortier said adequate supplies of the drugs are also being stretched because COVID-19 patients typically stay on ventilators from 10 to 14 days, which is longer than typical patients. At the moment, supplies are not critically low at Mass General, Fortier said, but the concern is so great that hospital staffers are monitoring supplies around the clock. “We have a team looking at it, hour-by-hour, seven days a week,” he said... (MORE)
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/...cheap-make
INTRO: With a vaccine for the novel coronavirus still likely a year or more away, the first weapon against the virus could be one of the drugs now in clinical trials with COVID-19 patients. A new analysis out today shows that many of these drugs, which are currently manufactured or in development to treat other diseases, can be made for $1 a day per patient, or less. If any prove effective against the novel coronavirus, a coordinated international effort will be needed to ensure they are made affordable for people worldwide, the researchers argue... (MORE)
Next potential shortage: Drugs needed to run ventilators
https://apnews.com/644302ec76172aafbedb00a2626358bc
INTRO: As hospitals scour the country for scarce ventilators to treat critically ill patients stricken by the new coronavirus, pharmacists are beginning to sound an alarm that could become just as urgent: Drugs that go hand in hand with ventilators are running low even as demand is surging.
Michael Ganio, of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, said demand for the drugs at greater New York hospitals has spiked as much as 600% over the last month, even though hospitals have stopped using them for elective surgery. “These ventilators will be rendered useless without an adequate supply of the medications,” Society CEO Paul Abramowitz said in an April 1 letter to Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force.
Nationwide, demand for the drugs surged 73% in March, according Dan Kistner, a pharmaceuticals expert at Vizient, Inc., which negotiates drug prices for hospitals throughout the country. Supplies, according to Vizient data, have not kept pace. “Trying to run the ventilators without these drugs will be like trying to operate a fleet of cars without gasoline,” Kistner said.
To date, no hospital has reported being unable to put a patient on a ventilator due to a lack of those drugs, said Soumi Saha, a pharmaceuticals expert at Premiere, Inc., which also negotiates drug prices for hospitals.
When clinicians put critically-ill patients on ventilators, they generally rely on three categories of drugs: sedatives, pain killers and, at times, paralytics. “You have a tube basically down your throat to help you breathe,” explained Chris Fortier, the chief pharmacy officer at Massachusetts General Hospital. “We need medications to sedate you and treat your pain, and sometimes to even give you some paralysis so that you’re not pulling on that ventilator and damaging your lungs.”
The demand is surging because hospitals across the country are trying to stock up at the same time, said Erin Fox, director of the drug-information service at University of Utah Health, which runs five hospitals. “I’m just terrified that we’re not going to have the medicines we need,” Fox said. “It keeps me up at night.”
Fortier said adequate supplies of the drugs are also being stretched because COVID-19 patients typically stay on ventilators from 10 to 14 days, which is longer than typical patients. At the moment, supplies are not critically low at Mass General, Fortier said, but the concern is so great that hospital staffers are monitoring supplies around the clock. “We have a team looking at it, hour-by-hour, seven days a week,” he said... (MORE)