Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #itolizumab

Most recents (13)

The #Aurangabad bench of the #BombayHighCourt of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge & Justice B U Debadwar starts hearing a suo motu #PIL on #COVID19 related crisis
J Ghuge: We intend to issue notice along with directions for the eight districts of Marathawada.
J Ghuge: Any person who wants to come out of their homes in these districts should carry an #Aadhar card, even if the person is on foot.
J Ghuge: Those riding two wheelers should wear a helmet and a mask. Mask is compulsory for everyone.
Read 44 tweets
In one of my earliest columns in 2020 I looked critically at the 30 patient trial of Itolizumab in severe Covid-19 and found it scientifically statistically deficient. It is here: science.thewire.in/the-sciences/b…
I concluded that Op-Ed piece as follows: "The irony is that Itolizumab may well be a breakthrough. If it is and if its real effects can be shown conclusively in a large trial, then Biocon would be able to boast of an unbeatable product."
and with the last sentence: "As things stand, it is unlikely to make that breakthrough without much greater rigor in the science of clinical trials. India’s pharmaceutical industry cannot become world-class on the back of shoddy clinical trials."
Read 13 tweets
A tweet thread on AYUSH.
I think these traditional medicine systems are here to stay. They are of course pure junk, totally unscientific, snake-oil, voodoo medicine.. call it whatever pejorative term you like.. but they are here to stay.
Why are they here to stay?
Well they are here to stay quite simply because many many people have faith in them. The source of this faith and whether it is faith backed by research is debatable but the fact is people have faith in them. Mainly upper caste Hindus when it comes to Ayurveda,
But homeopathy, Unani and Siddha have their own adherents.China is promoting its #TCM - traditional Chinese medicine and the English speaking world has its #AlternativeMedicine movement. On TCM see: economist.com/leaders/2017/0…
Read 11 tweets
I have deliberately tweeted nothing about #RheaChakrobarty. I happened to catch a film called "Under Suspicion"(2000); Police captain Morgan Freeman relentlessly questions prominent lawyer Gene Hackman until he confesses to 2 murders. Turns out someone else did it. Type 1 error.
A Type 1 error in criminology is when you reject the null hypothesis. In a criminal investigation, the Null Hypothesis is that the accused is innocent. In a clinical trial, that the drug under investigation is equivalent to placebo.
The ferocity and persistence with which the media in #India are hounding Rhea Chakrbarty is on a par with the efforts being put in by #BigPharma to convince us that their product (#Coronil, #Favipiravir, #Itolizumab etc) is THE magic cure. Both may be guilty of a Type 1 error.
Read 4 tweets
Everyone in #India know #Homeopathy and #ayurvedic interventions for #COVID19, #Corona is government's biggest #fraud and #quackery on people. Confused #media will playback whats been told. It's a #Cancer eating the community, sponsored by the some local governments. Real BS.
Don't expect the #government to do its people any good in these times. Either they favor big #pharma to rush untested molecules forcash in, or peddle nonsense #pseudoscience. Either way the people lose and it is upto compassionate #publichealth well wishers to educate otherwise.
See what happened with #coronil #itolizumab and #Tocilizumab and all the other stuff being broadcasted without any proper evidence. For some, the pandemic is a way to get their pockets big. This includes educated well trained doctors like @zev_dr and quacks like @drbrcofficial
Read 3 tweets
1/n
Forget #Coronil. Forget #Itolizumab.
There is a new player in town for #coronavirus and #COVID19 treatment. Introducing #Zingivir @Pankajakasthuri made from some herbs and mercuric and arsenic sulfide to fight the #pandemic. Sounds too good. But there are issues.
2/n
They claim to have tested the product for safety in animal and cell lines. However, no data shown, only media mouthing. Half of the ingredients look like they make a good sambar chutney. But the drug manufacturer claim the following 👇#herbal #pseudoscience
3/n
In a letter 😳😳😳 the CEO of the company asks the President of India @rashtrapatibhvn to start trials and clinical studies. This was in April 2020. Now fast forward to July 2020. Let's see how things went.
Read 12 tweets
Okay, here we go! Gather round!!
Ive got some simple stochastic modelling to share with y'all interested in the statistical apects of @Bioconlimited's trial of #Itolizumab. Bear with me while I put on my best Professorial air. Computer code and charts coming up, all in R.
Pay attention now, class! silence please there in the back row, yes you guys from #'BigPharma, put away your iPhones and listen.
Here is the Q. If A) the background mortality is 10% and I treat 'em all with 1 ml of pure saline. how many out of 20 wud die? Let's model this.
Look at this simple computer code in R. I am simulating what would happen in real life - stochastic modeling at its simplest. I am going to pretend I can take 10,000 samples each of size 20. and let R tell me how many in each sample will die given the background Prob(Death) = 0.1
Read 12 tweets
Clinical trials :-
Research studies aimed at evaluating a surgical or medical intervention efficacy in people
Used to evaluate whether a new drug,device is safe for human use
Scientists perform lab tests 1st on animals for testing efficacy & safety before FDA approves human test
Trials proceed through 4 phases to evaluate adequate doses,side effects
If after 3 phases FDA approves a drug intervention safe ,it gives approval for clinical use

Phase 1
New experimental drug,treatment
Small group of people 20 to 80
Test for dose safety,efficacy,side effects
Phase 2
Larger group 100 to 300 people
Emphasis in phase 1 is on safety,phase 2 is on effectiveness
Evaluate whether a treatment,drug device works in a disease or medical condition
Look for safety,side effects
Last many years
Read 6 tweets
Clinical phases of a drug trial
Desperate circumstances Desperate measures
@Ajay_Bagga @_soniashenoy @varinder_bansal @darshanvmehta1 @dmuthuk ImageImage
Explainer: Why is Biocon's COVID-19 drug Itolizumab is kicking up a controversy?

moneycontrol.com/news/business/… via @moneycontrolcom
@Bioconlimited #Itolizumab #COVID__19
Read 3 tweets
A thread.
Investigating the extent of acceptance worldwide of the role of @Bioconlimited's #Itolizumab in the treatment of #Psoriasis - a disease that afflicts upto 2% of the population. I conducted a search on PubMed.
The search strategy was:
((Psoriasis[MeSH Major Topic]) AND (systematic review[Publication Type])) AND (itolizumab[Text Word])
Yielded 2 results. To be continued soon Image
I'll pick this threade up now.
One of those papers was a Cochrane review. Reliable, authoritative and influential. It always pays to check Cochrane Library for a review first. Image
Read 13 tweets
Restricted Use of #Itolizumab for CRS in moderate to severe ARDS patients due to #COVID19. No peer-review.

❗️Phase III clinical trial exempted, to go for Phase IV.

Wordings of SEC meeting & Dr Sandeep Athalye, Chief Medical Officer, Biocon Biologics, have similar tone. 👇
To understand how HUGE scientific rationale can be, check her discussion w/ @SadhguruJV, a repeat offender. She speaks on DATA as well.

Both spewed lot of misinformation & judgement that could endanger public health & lives.

How are major arguments used by @kiranshaw here not different than arguments made by @yogrishiramdev on #CORONIL? Both playing on emotions like "made in India", "used since ages", "rigorous clinical trials not so relevant in pandemic". @CDSCO_INDIA_INF

Read 31 tweets
#Thread on clinical trials of #Itolizumab - 20 patients received the drug, another 10 patients (three died) received supportive care, four doses were given, 32 patients were randomized, two patients discontinued. says Dr Sandeep Athalye @Bioconlimited
Predominantly male participation with comorbidities like diabetes, thyroid and blood pressure issues. All 20 patients who were given the drug died. In the arm which did not receive the drug, 3 patients died and 2 needed invasive ventilation before they died. #Itolizumab
Key markers for inflammation IL 6 aand TNF alpha came down in those who received the drug. Serum Ferritin levels also came down. Even D Dimer markers which indicate clotting or coagulopathy #Itolizumab
Read 8 tweets
A tweet thread.
Subject: Critical appraisal of Itolizumab in #Coronavirus infection.
Events: 1. @sardesairajdeep ran a programme on 11 July showcasing what was claimed to be a breakthrough in the hunt for a drug that worked against #Covid19. Featured #Biocon's @Kiranshaw
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has blocked me so she won't see this thread. You can watch @sardesairajdeep programme here: .
Essentially it explained the #cytokinestorm that happens is some patients with #Covid19 and can be fatal. #Itolizumab counters this.
What is Itolizumab? Here is it's Wikipedia entry: It is a relatively newly developed drug in a class of drugs known as monoclonal antibodies (all of them end in '-mab'). They have been around as a class of pharmacologic agent since 1986.
Read 23 tweets

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