There have been posts about the hope antivirals provide for stemming the coronavirus pandemic. But the class of drugs that include Tamiflu are already being used extensively in the hospital setting. Maybe others will be found to work better.
[i]"…a majority of severely ill patients described to date have received numerous potentially targeted therapies—most commonly neuraminidase inhibitors and corticosteroids—and a minority of patients have been enrolled in clinical trials.
….the risk-benefit ratio for commonly used treatments such as corticosteroids is unclear."[/i]
There could be greater use of antivirals in the community but the effect (if any) on fatalities may already be felt. In a hospital setting FDA approval is not necessary and the physician has some leeway in trying the most promising medicines.
So far, no one is impressed with the anecdotal results it seems.
China’s latest weapon to fight the coronavirus is the anti-inflammatory antibody from Roche, Actemra (tocilizumab). The recommended dosage in COVID-19 in China is 400mg/day to a maximum of 800mg, or two injections per 24-hour period. Those with tuberculosis are prohibited from use and allergic response should be closely monitored, cautioned China’s top health regulatory agency.
Actemra is currently indicated for rheumatoid arthritis in China and the China National Clinical Registry shows that a clinical study in severe COVID-19 patients started on 13 February and conducted in Anhui Provincial Hospital. The record indicates the study has so far yielded some promising results.
The antibody joins a flurry of treatment options that have been added to China’s coronavirus diagnosis and treatment guideline, now in its seventh edition. China has shown a strong willingness to experiment with existing drugs for the virus, the recommended treatment options currently ranging from antivirals to malaria treatments to flu drugs. So far these have included AbbVie Inc.'s antiviral Kaletra (lopinavir and ritonavir) and ritonavir alone, Bayer AG’s antimalarial chloroquine and the flu drug favipiravir from Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Roche’s flu drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) has not been recommended however.
This is not the time to be worrying about stock picking.
If you want to make a bullish bet, just jump quickly into S&P and perhaps a couple of biotech/pharma ETFs. With zero commissions, you can afford to do asset allocation first and then refine later, once you figure out what stocks are likely to benefit. As to the latter, do it carefully. More companies will try to ride a coronavirus bandwagon that actually have genuine prospects.
Picked up some GILD @ 78.5. Also has a 3.7% Yield! What could go wrong? Better that sitting in cash IMO. Thanks Marc!
Also did pick up a bit of INO around $4.5 few weeks ago, and MRNA recently. Those have a potential to go up 100x , specially INO. Don’t think I would lose much if their vaccine doesn’t work. INO in particular has revenues , and judging by the ‘CashEquivQ’ levels in the Fundamental Chart , looks like it raised cash at least twice in the past three years. So they got other things cooking.
Anyway the risk reward in my mind is great.
Disclaimer: very back of the envelope analysis. might be worth nuthing.
I mentioned INO in the forums a couple of weeks back. Missed the first run up, but caught the second. Saw that the Gates foundation gave them a grant for device development for CV treatment. In on MRNA, too. Both with option positions.
The options market today is hitting APT with calls - I have no position.