The World Health Organization (WHO) have launched SOLIDARITY TRAIL, a giant trial

that will include the participation of Argentina, Bahrain, Canada, France, Iran, Norway,
South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and Thailand.
The four treatments that the WHO will be studying are:
• Remdesivir (an experimental antiviral)
• Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (an anti-malarial combination)
• Lopinavir and ritonavir (HIV antiretrovirals)
• Lopinavir, ritonavir, and interferon-beta
Let’s talk about each one of them.
1. REMDESIVIR: It interferes with how the viruses replicate inside cells, so it may
be able to slow or stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the body. The key word
here is "maybe," because there is no scientific proof that the drug works against
this coronavirus.
 It was initially developed and evaluated for the treatment of Ebola.
 It, along with one other drug trial were stopped because of a increase in
death among patients taking it, meaning it did not help those patients.
 Remdesivir is not yet licensed or approved anywhere globally and has not
been demonstrated to be safe or effective for any use.
SIDE EFFECTS OF REMDESIVIR:
In the Ebola trial, researchers detected:
 Increased liver enzyme levels that may or may not indicate liver damage.
 Researchers documented similar increases in liver enzymes in three U.S.
COVID-19 patients.
(LINKS TO CHECK FOR YOURSELF)

https://www.medicinenet.com/remdesivir_rdv_ebola_covid-
19_coronavirus_trial/article.htm#when_will_we_find_out_if_remdesivir_is_successful_at_treati
ng_covid-19_coronavirus

https://www.medicinenet.com/remdesivir_rdv_ebola_covid-
19_coronavirus_trial/article.htm#when_will_we_find_out_if_remdesivir_is_successful_at_treati
ng_covid-19_coronavirus

https://www.drugs.com/history/remdesivir.html

https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/03/31/coronavirus-drug-clinical-trials

2. CHLOROQUINE AND HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE: Hydroxychloroquine is a

medication first approved to treat malaria; an infection caused by a PARASITE
not a VIRUS.
  It has anti-viral activity in vitro, but no established clinical efficacy in
treatment of viral disease.
 It should be noted that immunosuppressive actions may be harmful in
viral disease.
 There is not enough evidence to know whether the drug protects against
infection from the SARS-CoV-2 virus

SIDE EFFECTS:
 Irreversible visual changes
 Long QT or QT prolongation (abnormal heart rhythm)
 Muscle weakness or nerve pain
 Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose)
(LINKS TO CHECK FOR YOURSELF)

https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/covid-19-chloroquine-hydroxychloroquine-only-be-used-
clinical-trials-emergency-use-programmes

https://www.goodrx.com/blog/coronavirus-medicine-chloroquine-hydroxychloroquine-as-
covid19-treatment/

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-urges-restraint-with-using-malaria-drugs-to-treat-covid-19/a-
52985323

https://www.health24.com/Medical/Infectious-diseases/Coronavirus/doctors-warned-against-
prescribing-unproven-medication-for-covid-19-20200401

3. LOPINAVIR and RITONAVIR: It is a fixed dose combination medication for the

treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
 Comparing outcomes from 94 people who got the drugs with results from
100 patients who received standard care showed no benefit to the drugs,
researchers report March 18

SIDE EFFECTS:
 diarrhea, vomiting, feeling tired, headaches, and muscle pains
 severe side effects may include pancreatitis
 liver problems
 high blood sugar
(LINKS TO CHECK FOR YOURSELF)

https://www.jwatch.org/na51172/2020/03/24/lopinavir-ritonavir-was-not-effective-covid-19

https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/home/topics/lung-infection/lopinavir-ritonavir-does-
not-offer-substantial-benefit-in-severe-covid-19/

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001282
 4. LOPINAVIR, RITONAVIR, and INTERFERON-BETA: This combination is just a
hypothesis., shorten hospitalization and reduce mortality in patients with 2019-n-
CoV infection compared with to lopinavir/ ritonavir alone.
 A combination of lopinavir/ ritonavir, ribavirin and interferon beta-1b will
expedite the recovery, suppress the viral load
 shorten hospitalization and reduce mortality in patients with 2019-n-CoV
infection compared with to lopinavir/ ritonavir alone

SIDE EFFECTS:

 swelling or other reactions at the injection site

 flu-like symptoms such as headache, tiredness, and weakness
 chills, fever
 trouble sleeping

(LINKS TO CHECK FOR YOURSELF)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13940-6

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04276688

“What if the Chinese had not tested their patients for coronavirus or there had not been
any test? Would we have carried on with our lives, without restrictions, not worrying
about some deaths here and there among old people, which we see every winter? I think
so.”
The WHO estimates that an influenza season kills about 500,000 people, or about 50
times more than those who have died so far during more than 3 months of the
Coronavirus epidemic.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/who-launch-trial-testing-4-potential-covid-19-
treatments#A-combination-of-antiretroviral-drugs

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/27/who-officials-enroll-first-patients-from-norway-and-spain-
in-historic-coronavirus-drug-trial.html

https://www.deadlymedicines.dk/corona-an-epidemic-of-mass-panic/

https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m800/rr-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0848FPKNP

https://www.who.int/influenza/surveillance_monitoring/bod/en/

https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-
takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EC7mTsuBAScE_yrgZz26DevuZJHbtDbbvGgf2WRlEJc/edi
t

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-rate/#who-03-03-20

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3809029/

https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/502485

https://www.wsj.com/articles/controlling-the-virus-narrative-11584899715

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(seasonal)

Disease mongering is a term for the practice of widening the diagnostic boundaries
of illnesses and aggressively promoting their public awareness in order to expand the
markets for treatment.
Remdeevir

It was initially developed and evaluated for the treatment of Ebola.

https://www.medicinenet.com/remdesivir_rdv_ebola_covid-
19_coronavirus_trial/article.htm#when_will_we_find_out_if_remdesivir_is_successful_at_treati
ng_covid-19_coronavirus

https://www.drugs.com/history/remdesivir.html

https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/03/31/coronavirus-drug-clinical-trials

https://nmpharmtech.com/product/en/Product-20200316-045710.html?
gclid=CjwKCAjwvZv0BRA8EiwAD9T2VQbfxE8T30gNcPfKrGkoYRSloJxaWloO_dTF7Nq9lc3CUE02T
BlfEBoC8CMQAvD_BwE (VERY IMP)
http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/gilead_faces_criticism_over_remdesivirs_orphan_drug_
designation_1329985

http://www.gabionline.net/Generics/News/Chinese-company-makes-copy-of-patented-
coronavirus-treatment-remdesivir

https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/covid-19-chloroquine-hydroxychloroquine-only-be-used-
clinical-trials-emergency-use-programmes

https://www.goodrx.com/blog/coronavirus-medicine-chloroquine-hydroxychloroquine-as-
covid19-treatment/

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-urges-restraint-with-using-malaria-drugs-to-treat-covid-19/a-
52985323

https://www.health24.com/Medical/Infectious-diseases/Coronavirus/doctors-warned-against-
prescribing-unproven-medication-for-covid-19-20200401