Dow Up 500 Points after Positive News on Potential Coronavirus Treatment Dexamethasone

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by Bhushan Akolkar · 3 min read
Dow Up 500 Points after Positive News on Potential Coronavirus Treatment Dexamethasone
Photo: Depositphotos

In a major breakthrough, researchers from England have discovered that Dexamethasone can help to reduce deaths by one-third for COVID-19 patients under critical conditions. Markets reacted positively to the news.

Yesterday, at market close, Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) was up over 500 points after jumping by around 800 points during the session. This growth is partially attributed to the good news from the healthcare industry. Scientists and researchers are hailing a ‘major breakthrough’ with a cheap and widely used steroid Dexamethasone which can help to save several lives for coronavirus patients in the advanced stage. Researchers from England have found out that the use of Dexamethasone deaths by one-third in severely ill and hospitalized patients.

The steroid basically serves the purpose of reducing inflammation in other diseases. From the results of the trial, the researchers think that this drug can be the new standard of care in patients. After announcing the results on Tuesday, the British government has immediately authorized the use of the steroid across the UK. Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor co-leading the RECOVERY trial, said:

“This is a result that shows that if patients who have Covid-19 and are on ventilators or are on oxygen are given dexamethasone, it will save lives, and it will do so at a remarkably low cost. It’s going to be very hard for any drug really to replace this, given that for less than 50 pounds ($63.26), you can treat eight patients and save a life.”

Peter Horby, the co-lead investigator called Dexamethasone as the only drug to show reduced mortality in a significant manner. Horby called it a major breakthrough and also suggested the use of the drug worldwide. He added:

“The survival benefit is clear and large in those patients who are sick enough to require oxygen treatment, so dexamethasone should now become standard of care in these patients”.

Will Dexamethasone Help Coronavirus Patients?

The COVID-19 pandemic has created major havoc worldwide with 8.2 million cases and close to 450K deaths as on date.

Experts from around the world have praised the new researchers for their results derived. America’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci said:

“This is a significant improvement in the available therapeutic options that we have. Bottom line is, good news. “Early on, you’re fighting the virus and you want your immune system to be as intact as possible,” Fauci explained. But in the advanced stage of COVID-19, the battle against the virus causes so much inflammation that it “is hurting you more than helping you,” he said. The results seen in the Oxford study make “perfect sense” with that notion, he said.

For patients on breathing machines, researchers predict that the steroid can save one death out of every eight patients. Similarly, it can save one death for every 25 patients on extra oxygen alone. Speaking on it, Dr. Martin Landray at Oxford, said:

“Those are big effects. “It’s not a cure, but it’s certainly a long way forward.” It’s especially good news that the drug “is remarkably cheap, perhaps $20 or $30 for an entire course of treatment”.

Nick Cammack, an expert on Covid-19 at the Wellcome Trust global health charity, said that the new findings would have “transform the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on lives and economies across the world”. He also added that “Countless lives will be saved globally.”

Well, it looks like this can have a major positive impact on markets worldwide. After an initial crash earlier this month, the market recovered on Monday after the Fed announced more stimulus measures to contain the economic loss by COVID-19. The latest results can help take the market rising further from here.

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