Healthcare

Louisiana AG: State Will Receive 8,000 Z-Paks From Teva Pharmaceuticals

Published

3 years ago

April 6, 2020

The State of Louisiana, one of the states hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is receiving a much-needed shipment of 8,000 tablets of the antibiotic azithromycin from Teva pharmaceuticals, an Israeli drug company, the State’s Attorney General Jeff Landry first told the Sara Carter Show Monday. Additionally, Teva will send 75,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine sulfate, Attorney General Landry shared during Monday’s press conference with Governor John Bel Edwards.

“We actually will be meeting with the Governor. We’re gonna announce where we have been able to procure 8,000 dosages, Z-Paks, from Teva Pharmaceuticals. And we’re gonna get those in Louisiana hopefully by tomorrow,” the Attorney General told Carter.

It’s a sign of hope for Louisiana, however, it’s not “a silver bullet,” he noted.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1241367245143642113

The drug, coupled with anti-malaria pill hydroxychloroquine, is a cocktail used to treat many patients diagnosed with the coronavirus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine last month after it showed signs of success in early clinical trials.

“Teva has donated more than 10 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets through wholesalers to hospitals across the U.S. and the company is extremely pleased that the people of Louisiana will benefit from this significant contribution. We continue to assess additional ways to address current national need while focusing on our commitment to continue to supply more than 10% of the nation’s medicines to patients who need them,” Teva spokesperson Kelly Dougherty said of the news.

Last week, the FDA authorized the Louisiana State University Medical School to conduct a clinical study after receiving 400,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine from Amneal Pharmaceuticals. The pills have already been delivered to over 100 locations across the state, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s office.

“We have seen some promising results in some patients. For me, anytime that we can find a treatment that has some sort of positive result, every patient we keep off of a ventilator is another ventilator that we have for someone else,” Landry said.

He added, “So we’re hoping that this will bring some much needed relief into the state at this time.”

As of Monday, there are 14,867 confirmed cases of the virus and 512 reported deaths.

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China

FDA will work with China to import cancer drugs due to U.S. shortages

Published

3 days ago

June 7, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Earlier this week the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will be working to import chemotherapy drugs from, of all places, China. The drug, called Cisplatin, is to help “ramp up supply amidst rampant drug shortages in the U.S.” reports Foreign Desk News.

Foreign Desk News writes:

Cisplatin comes from drugmaker Qilu Pharmaceutical, which is marketed and produced in China but has not been approved by the FDA. According to a May 24 letter, Qilu will work with the Canadian-based drug company Apotex to import and distribute the medication, which will come in 50-milligram vials with Chinese labels.

“The FDA is responding to yet another generic drug shortage,” said Edmund F. Haislmaier, an expert in healthcare policy and markets at The Heritage Foundation. “The underlying cause of those shortages is that generic drugs have become low-margin commodity products,” he added.

Last week on Twitter, FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the partnership with Qilu Pharmaceutical is temporary but will provide patients with a potentially life-extending drug.

“The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages,” Califf said.

The public should rest assured that we will continue all efforts within our authority to help the industry that manufactures and distributes these drugs meet all patient needs for the oncology drugs impacted by shortages. https://t.co/8XvOuJzSL4

— Dr. Robert M. Califf (@DrCaliff_FDA) June 3, 2023

Foreign Desk News adds:

The latest move by the FDA is sure to spark concern and debate in Congress, as lawmakers in the House and Senate have called on the Biden administration to de-couple the U.S. economy from the Chinese markets, given Beijing’s aggressive push to expand in the South-China Sea and eventually take over the island state of Taiwan. China has also spread illegal and dangerous synthetic opioids and fentanyl drugs across the U.S. southern border, resulting in the devastating deaths of many Americans.