Can anyone start a crowd-funding initiative to support Dr. Murray's project, the manufacturer of BCG Tokyo 172/Russia, and the doctors/scientists?
Dr. Megan Murray, Director of Harvard Medical School’s Global Health Research Core, is looking to arrest the spread of COVID-19 using BCG, the world’s most widely-used vaccine. But they are starting from fund-raising...
https://www.abundance.org/crucial-research-assessing-efficacy-in-preventing-covid-19-of-widely-used-vaccine-for-tuberculosis-called-bcg/
I received a message below from Dr. Murray's project this morning. They have read my previous post.
I am worrying that the pharma companies don't have incentives as the BCG vaccine is an old low-margin vaccine. You may think this worry could be true after reading the message below.
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Hello Sato-san,
My name is XXX, and I'm the Program Director at the Abundance Foundation. Since the first week of March, the Abundance Foundation has been doing everything we can to support research on a BCG, a potentially game-changing COVID-19 medication.
We saw your blog post on the subject and are interested in speaking more to see if there's any alignment, and to share ideas and get your advice about how to make this crucial work happen. Our work on this was featured in Newsweek Japan, and you can read the article here if you're interested.
The Abundance Foundation has already committed $500,000 to Dr. Murray’s work. However, this is just a fraction of the funds required for a definitive, randomized controlled trial, involving health care workers in Boston and Peru and nursing home residents in Taiwan. Even though this entire study will cost well below three million dollars — less than 5% of the typical clinical study — we can’t rely on pharma to fund this crucial, time-sensitive, exceedingly cost-effective research.
When the Abundance Foundation supported Dr. Murray’s Ebola and Cholera work, we had an outsized ROI over less nimble funders, because they missed crucial windows due to their bureaucratic hurdles. We believe this work has the potential to quickly change the course of this global pandemic.
We are interested in your ideas about this, and would love to set up a time to connect about it. Do you have any time in the next week to speak, perhaps by Zoom or Skype?
Thank you for all you're doing to spread the word about this important work.
Best, XXX -- Program Director Abundance Foundation www.abundance.org ---
https://www.abundance.org/crucial-research-assessing-efficacy-in-preventing-covid-19-of-widely-used-vaccine-for-tuberculosis-called-bcg/
I received a message below from Dr. Murray's project this morning. They have read my previous post.
I am worrying that the pharma companies don't have incentives as the BCG vaccine is an old low-margin vaccine. You may think this worry could be true after reading the message below.
---
Hello Sato-san,
My name is XXX, and I'm the Program Director at the Abundance Foundation. Since the first week of March, the Abundance Foundation has been doing everything we can to support research on a BCG, a potentially game-changing COVID-19 medication.
We saw your blog post on the subject and are interested in speaking more to see if there's any alignment, and to share ideas and get your advice about how to make this crucial work happen. Our work on this was featured in Newsweek Japan, and you can read the article here if you're interested.
The Abundance Foundation has already committed $500,000 to Dr. Murray’s work. However, this is just a fraction of the funds required for a definitive, randomized controlled trial, involving health care workers in Boston and Peru and nursing home residents in Taiwan. Even though this entire study will cost well below three million dollars — less than 5% of the typical clinical study — we can’t rely on pharma to fund this crucial, time-sensitive, exceedingly cost-effective research.
When the Abundance Foundation supported Dr. Murray’s Ebola and Cholera work, we had an outsized ROI over less nimble funders, because they missed crucial windows due to their bureaucratic hurdles. We believe this work has the potential to quickly change the course of this global pandemic.
We are interested in your ideas about this, and would love to set up a time to connect about it. Do you have any time in the next week to speak, perhaps by Zoom or Skype?
Thank you for all you're doing to spread the word about this important work.
Best, XXX -- Program Director Abundance Foundation www.abundance.org ---
Can anyone start a crowd-funding initiative to support Dr. Murray's project, the manufacturer of BCG Tokyo 172 and the one of BCG Russia, and the doctors/scientists?
If you are willing and have experience of those initiatives, please help us get started.
(Added on 14 Apr)
Stephen Kahn, M.D., President, Abundance Foundation has issued a letter.
Letter from Dr. Stephen Kahn about urgent COVID-19 research on BCG vaccine
https://www.abundance.org/letter-from-dr-stephen-kahn-about-urgent-covid-19-research-on-bcg-vaccine/
(Added on 14 Apr)
Stephen Kahn, M.D., President, Abundance Foundation has issued a letter.
Letter from Dr. Stephen Kahn about urgent COVID-19 research on BCG vaccine
https://www.abundance.org/letter-from-dr-stephen-kahn-about-urgent-covid-19-research-on-bcg-vaccine/
WITH THE CURRENT VACCINE STOCK,
ReplyDeleteWE CAN INOCULATE MUCH LARGER NUMBER OF PEOPLE
I am really sorry for the re-post, but this idea may dramatically change the situation, I posted again.
I think that it is possible to inoculate several times the number with the now-existing vaccine stock. Actually, I'm a clinical doctor of Japan.
In Japan, we use "Kan-shin-ho" for the injection of BCG. This PDF has an easy-to-understand figure.
https://www.bcg.gr.jp/medical/text_k_bcg.pdf
This injection procedure is very effective, sophisticated and low risk. However, with "Kan-shin-ho", 99% of the volume of vaccine liquid will not enter the under-skin space. Because "Kan-shin-ho" will spread the vaccine liquid on skin and push it into the under-skin space with thin needles. You can understand it easily with this PDF.
https://www.meitetsu-hospital.jp/app/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/yobou_193.pdf
As you see, over 99% of the volume of vaccine liquid will not enter the under-skin space, just be spread on the surrounding skin. This amount is wasted. Of course, I understand this procedure is very simple and sophisticated, and I strongly recommend this method under the normal situation.
However, this is a global very extreme situation. Under this situation, I strongly propose a method using a simple needle like “BIFURCATED NEEDLE”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bifurcated_needle
This needle had been used to smallpox vaccination. I think the thickness of the needle should be much thinner than Bifurcated needle for BCG because of the characteristic of making ulcer.
With this type of needle, doctors can fully use the amount of vaccine liquid. For example, after make the vaccine liquid 0.15ml, an injector will divide the liquid into 0.03ml each for 5 patients. “AFTER” the divide, for one patient, one bifurcated needle will be used to make 18 pricks to the under-skin space. The bifurcated needle will be soaked to the 0.03ml BCG and make a prick to the skin, and again be soaked to the 0.03ml BCG and make a prick to the skin.........
Again, I want to emphasize that THIS IS AN EMERGENT SITUATION.
It is inevitable that a very small amount of vaccine liquid will adhere to the upper surface of the needle that does not enter the skin. Such a small amount of vaccine liquid will be inevitably wasted. So, I think 100 times increase is difficult. However, I believe it is definitely possible 5-10 times increase the number of people getting BCG vaccine.
Of course after the clinical trial(effective strain, such as Tokyo-172, must be chosen), I strongly await that very effective thin-bifurcated needle will be manufactured rapidly, and global BCG vaccination will be started. Japanese thin acupuncture needle can also be used for this method probably.
私は、現有のワクチン量のストックで、数倍の人数に接種できると思っています。
Delete再度の投稿になり誠に申し訳ありません。ただこのアイデアは、状況を劇的に変える可能性があり、再度投稿させていただきます。
日本では、BCGの注射に「管針法」を使用しています。下記のPDFには分かりやすい図があります。
https://www.bcg.gr.jp/medical/text_k_bcg.pdf
この注射法は、非常に効果的で洗練され、低リスクな方法です。しかし実は管針法では、ワクチン液量の99％が皮内に入りません。管針法はワクチン液を皮膚に塗り広げ、細い針で皮内に押し込む方法だからです。下記のPDFで、注射の様子がよく分かります。
https://www.meitetsu-hospital.jp/app/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/yobou_193.pdf
ご覧の通り、用意したワクチン液量の99％以上は皮内には入りません。管針により皮内に入るごく微量以外は、周囲の皮膚に塗られているだけです。この量は無駄になります。
もちろん、この素晴らしい接種法は多くの変遷の後に確立され、シンプルで大変洗練された方法です。そのため通常の状況下ではこの方法が強く推奨され、それ以外の方法は用いるべきではありません。しかし現在は、目を覆うような世界的緊急事態が日々進行しています。
私はここに、この非常時おいて、「二又針」のような単純な針をBCG接種に使う事を強く提案します。下記は二又針の情報です。
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bifurcated_needle
この針は旧来、天然痘ワクチン接種に使用されていました。BCGの特性（潰瘍など）を考慮すると、BCGの場合は通常の二又針よりもかなり細い針が良いと思います。
このタイプの針を使用すると、医師は多数への接種に際し十分な量のワクチン液を確保できます。たとえば、ワクチン液を0.15mlで準備した後、注射者は5人の患者に対してワクチン液をそれぞれ0.03mlに分割します。分割した後に、その0.03mlのワクチン液を使い、1人の患者に対して1つの二又針を使用して、皮内に18のプリックを作成します。つまり二又針を0.03mlのBCGに浸し、皮膚に刺し、そして再び0.03mlのBCGに浸し、皮膚に刺し・・・・これの繰り返しです。
繰り返しますが、我々は今、世界レベルで一刻の猶予もない緊急事態のただ中にあることを強調したいと思います。
皮内に入らない部分の針表面にどうしても微量のワクチン液が付着するのは避けられません。そのような微量のワクチン液は、どうしても無駄になります。だから100倍の人数への投与は難しいと思います。しかし、5-10倍の人数への投与なら、この方法で間違い無く可能と考えます。
もちろん治験(Tokyo-172株のような、有効な株が選択される必要があります)での効果確認の後になりますが、BCG接種に対し効果的な、特に細い二又針が迅速に製造され、病の惨禍にある各国で一刻も早くBCG接種が始まるのを私は願っています。細い二又針の代用には、おそらく日本の細い鍼灸針も使えるでしょう。
Nice to hear that they (Abundance Foundation ) reached out to you!
ReplyDeleteI am a researcher as well as clinical dermatologist from Japan. I have been working to establish percetaneous vaccination using selfdesolving micro needle accompanying impact applicator. From my understanding, BCG vaccine is delivered in freeze dried form and possible to put it into the tips of the micro needle. If someone interested to this technology, please let me know. In short, very small amount of BCG vacccine can be securely delivered in to upper dermis, that we can vaccinate though and times more patients in very short periodic of time. Again, all the procedures and safety are established for human using growth factor already.
ReplyDelete