Med Center doctors release name of drug used on Ebola patient; condition improving
Source: Omaha World Herald
By Bob Glissmann
Doctors treating the American Ebola patient in Omaha on Monday released the name of the experimental drug that they used on him to target the virus.
Dr. Rick Sacra received TKM-Ebola, manufactured by Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, for seven days while being treated in the biocontainment unit at the Nebraska Medical Center. The treatment started Sept. 5, the day he arrived in Omaha.
Sacras condition continues to improve, hospital officials said Monday, and he may be well enough to leave the unit very soon. The CDC requires two negative blood tests 24 hours apart in order for a patient to be declared virus-free.
The first set of Sacras blood samples that were sent to the CDC showed a decreasing amount of Ebola virus in his blood from the first day through his fifth day of treatment, doctors said last week. A second set of samples also showed improvement, hospital spokesman Taylor Wilson said Monday.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://www.livewellnebraska.com/health/med-center-doctors-release-name-of-drug-used-on-ebola/article_dd7fd854-42a2-11e4-bf3e-001a4bcf6878.html
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)Obviously big pharma is already making millions off a drug that they don't even confirm was given to Sacra, can't prove made a difference in his case (Sacra received transfusions from Dr. Brantly to get his antibodies plus extensive supportive care). And a drug that may not even be effective against this particular strain of Ebola.
"Sacras doctors cautioned Monday against thinking that TKM-Ebola might be a magic bullet against the often-deadly virus.
We need to carefully assess all the treatments being provided to patients with the Ebola virus, said Dr. Angela Hewlett, the associate medical director of the biocontainment unit. We dont know if it was Dr. Sacras own immune system, the supportive therapy we provided, the blood transfusion from Dr. (Kent) Brantly, TKM-Ebola or a combination of all these factors that helped Dr. Sacra recover.
....The company cautioned that the patients may be infected with a strain of Ebola virus which has emerged subsequent to the strain that our product is directed against, and physicians treating these patients may use more than one therapeutic intervention in an effort to achieve the best outcome.