Royal Bank Of Scotland Share Discussion Threads

[stonedyou] 25/3/2020 12:04

Cuba Uses 'Wonder Drug' to Fight Coronavirus Around World Despite U.S. Sanctions


Cuba has mobilized its medical corps around the world to distribute a new "wonder drug" that officials there say is capable of treating the new coronavirus despite the United States' strict sanctions that continue to pressure the communist-run island.

The drug, called Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant (IFNrec), is jointly developed by scientists from Cuba and China, where the coronavirus COVID-19 disease outbreak first emerged late last year. Already active in China since January, the Cuban Medical Brigades began deploying to dozens of nations, providing personnel and products such as its new anti-viral drug to battle the disease that has exceeded 400,000 confirmed cases across the globe. As of Tuesday, over 100,000 people have recovered from the infection and more than 18,000 have died.

Cuba first used advanced interferon techniques to treat dengue fever in the 1980s and later found success in using it to combat HIV, human papillomavirus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and other diseases. The use of Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant "prevents aggravation and complications in patients reaching that stage that ultimately can result in death," Cuban biotech expert Luis Herrera Martinez said, according to a recent Yale University Press Blog feature written by the University of Glasgow's Helen Yaffe. She called the treatment a potential "wonder drug" against the new coronavirus.

Yaffe, who recently authored a book on Cuba's post-Soviet economic experience entitled We Are Cuba!, told Newsweek that she knew of at least 15 countries that have contacted Cuba to request the drug, along with "local mayors and hospital directors who are anxious to get hold of the Cuban anti-viral to meet the crisis." Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant has not been approved to treat COVID-19, but has been proven effective against viruses similar to it.

It has been selected along with 30 other drugs to treat COVID-19 by China's National Health Commission. The World Health Organization will be studying interferon-beta, along with three other drugs, to determine their effectiveness against the new coronavirus.

Cuba's ambitious anti-pandemic efforts are hindered, however, by decades-long U.S. sanctions that one Cuban official described to Newsweek as "the main obstacle not only to respond to major health crises like COVID-19, but the main obstacle to the country's development at any area."

"The lifting of the blockade against Cuba would have an extraordinarily positive impact on Cuba and mostly in the health sector, which has been one of the most damaged areas since the establishment of the blockade almost 60 years ago with more than 3 billion in economic losses," the official added.

[smartie6] 25/3/2020 11:54

Who knows stonedyou may even jump from his flat window.

[smartie6] 25/3/2020 11:53

Asa8, everyone hopes so but deep down inside they are very worried as if it’s cancelled, after hours, open tomorrow is going to be a massacre.

[asa8] 25/3/2020 11:39

Hi all does this go ex dividend tonight and is it 5p thanks

[stonedyou] 25/3/2020 11:38

Cuba flouts US sanctions by handing out new ‘wonder drug’ to fight coronavirus

CUBA has started to distribute a new ‘wonder drug' officials say can treat coronavirus despite US sanctions.

[joe king1] 25/3/2020 10:31

No, they not not, for the foreseeable future A severe recession is looming

[smurfy2001] 25/3/2020 10:30

cfc1, still think a recession is coming maybe the stimulus will drag us out of a recession quicker than expected. I dunno it's a hard one to call.

[portside1] 25/3/2020 09:30

Take the div these are going to go back over 200

[cfc1] 25/3/2020 09:01

smurfs fact is these markets are massively oversold. Total WW market collapse due to a virus that will pass or become something else you can catch or not
Press havinga field day and now I think even gov't react to them.
Didnt get back into Telsa but then £-$ is worse than rubbish.
Anyway, I think RBS will back on track once the virus peaks and then vaccine is found which they will rush through and not take the usual protocol to approve.

[leedskier] 25/3/2020 08:24

smartie6 so do you work from an office or call centre?

[portside1] 25/3/2020 08:21

News that there could be a vaccine in weeks

[tfergi] 25/3/2020 08:18

Smurfy I still think the bear market low will be under 4000 for the FTSELots of rises like this in 2008 but the bottom took months. We will see

[portside1] 25/3/2020 08:12

Ex div at close and the share will not fall that much tomorrow or even go up

[smurfy2001] 25/3/2020 08:05

Has the recession ended given the huge stimulus?

I don't think so.

[leedskier] 25/3/2020 08:00

add

I guess you are working from home too.

[leedskier] 25/3/2020 07:59

You will have readers thinking that you are bit of a leftie.

My son-in-law and daughter are working from home. More of the privileged few?

What socialist nonsense.

[smartie6] 25/3/2020 07:52

Just out of interest, if they cancel the dividend tonight after close or tomorrow morning, how will you feel about the management of this company?
Pulling a dividend in the 11th hour says something about trust, doesn’t it?

[smartie6] 25/3/2020 07:49

So MPs don’t have to go into work but every other worker that can’t work from home does?
Round of applause for the privileged few.

[smartie6] 25/3/2020 07:48

Yes. Yes. Yes.
Once all the artillery is gone then it’s Armageddon.

[leedskier] 25/3/2020 07:48

Laura Kuenssberg
@bbclaurak
Parliament expected to close tonight after emergency corona laws have been passed and granted royal assent - understand motions have been tabled already for House to rise until an unknown time

[smurfy2001] 25/3/2020 07:44

Looks like another rally going on the futures.

Will you fight against the stimulus package just approved? That's 2 trillion!