Covid’s non-disappearing act: 20% of UK patients are in for the long haul

The NPC Healthbiz Weekly has launched. It's your weekly briefing on topics pertinent to healthcare marketers and executives published in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions. From Chronicle Companies, organizers of the 14th National Pharmaceutical Congress, which begins next Wednesday, Oct. 21. More info at pharmacongress.info

⇒ Issue #124 (In numerology, 124 is at the confluence of intuition and introspection.)
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 10/15: 194,362*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 10/15: 9,756*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 10/15: 38,971,792*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 10/15: 1,098,982*

October 16, 2020—It seems we’ve limped all the way to the end of another socially distant week, CurveFlatteners, as well as into the back-half of October. It’s Mitch Shannon reporting today from the Swansea neighborhood of Toronto, where it seems that autumn decided to get serious overnight. We’ve fully arrived in the season of leaf-raking and disappearing daylight.

And to continue that theme: “It’s going to disappear.” That is what the American president told the public back on February 27, referring to Covid-19. “One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” Nearly eight months following this blithe reassurance, 220,000 Americans have died and the president himself, along with his wife and adolescent son, have been infected by the virus. Not only has coronavirus not disappeared, but scientists are discovering that some patients will bear ongoing symptoms of the illness for an indefinite period. 

A report issued yesterday (10-15-20) by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in the UK outlines some dire implications. Patients who endure a sustained version of the infection—known as Long Covid—are presenting complex disorders of the skin, GI, CV, and CNS, along with other trademarks of milder forms of the virus, such as sensory loss and lack of mental acuity. The NIHR review says up to 20 per cent of British patients have contracted the Long Covid form of the disease, as defined by symptoms continuing for more than one month.

“A common theme is that symptoms arise in one physiological system then abate, only for symptoms to arise in a different system,” the NIHR report said. Elaine Maxwell, lead author of the NIHR report, tells the Financial Times newspaper of London: “The overwhelming message is that this is not a linear condition. Many [patients] suffer a rollercoaster of symptoms moving around the body, from which they do not recover.” Among the concerns this report raises is the financial cost of providing care to Covid patients, which now threatens to take another daunting leap.

Meanwhile, Covid’s second wave is fully underway in Europe, where more than 700,000 new coronavirus cases were logged last week. That represents a 36 per cent week-over-week increase, and the 77th day of increases in the infection rate, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The U.K. introduced new restrictions on social gatherings in the north of England, where Liverpool is the center of new outbreaks.

Liverpudlians greeted the news of new lockdowns by having one last raucous street-party in the hours before new curfews were enacted. During the rave-up, a police car was attacked and arrests were made. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson, commenting on photos of jam-packed revelers and carousers said, "These pictures shame our city."

The NPC Podcast is back for another season. The organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Peter's guest this week is Kevin Leshuk. Listen here now, or download the episode and play it at your convenience. The NPC Podcast is presented in cooperation with Impres Pharma

COVID CHRONICLE 10-16-20

• The injectable antiviral remdesivir (Veklury, Gilead Sciences) doesn’t improve survival outcomes in Covid patients, according to just-released findings of the SOLIDARITY clinical trial conducted by the World Health Organization. The trial, which is still awaiting peer review, studied remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, and interferon in 11,266 hospitalized patients. Remdesivir was studied in 2,750 patients in the WHO trial. It was one of several Rxs used in combination Tx on President Donald Trump’s recent case of Covid-19.

• Janssen announced Tuesday (10-13) the company has placed a "pause" on further dosing in its Covid vaccine candidate trials, including the phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial, following an adverse event in a study participant. In a press release, the company distinguishes its pause from a regulatory "halt." Investors weren't as picky about the language and sent shares of the parent company, Johnson & Johnson, down by about 3 per cent on the news. Dr. Mathai Mammen, head of R&D at J&J, says he hasn't been informed if the adverse event occurred in a placebo group or the active group. (See next item.)
• Eli Lilly said Tuesday (10-13) the phase 3 ACTIV-3 trial of its monoclonal antibody Tx candidate for Covid were paused by U.S. regulators over potential safety concerns. Lilly's antibody is being studied in combo with remdesivir (see previous items.) Company spokesman Molly McCully tells the CNBC financial news channel: “Lilly is supportive of the decision by the independent [data safety monitoring board] to cautiously ensure the safety of the patients participating in this study.”

WHAT CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY

Our reporter Cory Perla is polishing up his interview with British Columbia dermatologist Dr. Jeff Donovan on a retrospective review of delayed adverse events secondary to treatment with a smooth, cohesive hyaluronic acid filler. The interview will be published in an upcoming edition of The Chronicle of Cosmetic Medicine + Surgery.

TONIGHT WE'RE HAVING...

Look. I did mention at the beginning of this newsletter that I'm in Swansea, proximitous to the Ukrainian-Canadian enclave of Bloor West Village. And I did point out that we're entering the latter part of October, right? So, you can safely conclude from the two facts on hand that we're consuming cabbage rolls this evening, helped down with a bottle of Canadian Gothic White from Pillitteri Wines of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Obviously.

RIGHT NOW I’M READING...

Disloyal: A Memoir, by Michael Cohen (2020, Skyhorse, Cdn$40.) There’s nothing in this tome about Mr. Cohen’s ex-boss, the 45th American president, that will inform, disappoint, or surprise anyone, but the author lets slip one previously unknown nugget about himself. Seems Mr. Cohen’s father grew up in Toronto and is an otolaryngologist who graduated from the U of T medical school and emigrated to Long Island after graduation. This suggests it’s only an accident of history that the author didn’t remain in Canada, where he might have risen to an alternate-reality position, perhaps serving as consigliere to an eminent local demi-Trump, such as Gerry Schwartz, or Justin Trudeau. Now, there is a thought that might terrify.

TOMORROW AND TOMORROW

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend. The Skin Spectrum Weekly will be out on Monday, followed by the NPC Healthbiz Weekly on Tuesday. This newsletter returns next Wednesday. Don’t forget to register for the 14th National Pharmaceutical Congress, which begins on Wednesday, October 21st at 11:00 am. Go to: http://pharmacongress.info/register