Amarin Corp Plc (AMRN)

[sts66]

Trial by fire using certain drugs is now forbidden in NY and NV - their governors have issued executive orders banning off label prescriptions of HQ and HCQ, will only allow them to be prescribed for CV-19 in a hospital setting because demand is exceeding supply - any doc writing scrips for them must document that the patient is being treated for one of the official FDA indications (malaria, lupus, RA). How legally enforceable these orders are is questionable - if the DEA and FDA couldn't stop the flood of illegal opiate orders and scrips, who is going to enforce this off label ban on HQ and HCQ? If pharmacies can make money filling those scrips, you know damn well some will try to stay under the radar and make profits off those sales. I think this is going to spread to other states where infection rates are skyrocketing too, like TN and LA - the flood of infections resulting from Mardi Gras is just starting to hit LA and surrounding states as people who road tripped to the parades on the last weekend in Feb become symptomatic and people they visited on the way home and infected start to get sick.

In any case, most MS drugs are so expensive I can't see them being a solution even if they work against CV-19 - Gilenya costs $10k for 30 pills ($62k when it was first approved), and BMY hasn't priced Zeposia yet because it was just approved two days ago but the launch has been delayed because of CV-19.

BTW, the French doctors who ran that 1st HCQ+ AZ study where they claim 6 patients were cured have released a 2nd paper detailing results from an 80 person trial, but again open label, not randomized, not peer reviewed, and a ton of data is missing:

https://t.co/31ZO4OPyRv?amp=1

Link came from this Twitter thread - click on "see more replies" for what the critics are saying:

Important: new paper from Raoult's team reports fabulous clinical results of hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin combination. https://t.co/IuBvPQJvNB pic.twitter.com/Bfv5irkVeC

— Stephen McIntyre (@ClimateAudit) March 28, 2020

Oh jeez - the governor of Michigan has also banned off label scrips for HCQ, and threatens the medical licenses of docs who defy the order - this is what I was talking about a week ago when I explained why my internist is always concerned about prescribing off label drugs for Lyme disease and a couple other health conditions - he's had to change his treatment plans over the years because it sometimes became too risky for him despite the fact he had success with some patients:

https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2020/03/27/michigan-gov.-warns-doctors-pharmacists-who-prescribe-or-dispense-hydroxychloroquine-of-professional-consequences

The Detroit News’ Kathy Hoekstra reports that Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) has sent a letter to all physicians and pharmacists in the state warning of “professional consequences” if they prescribe or dispense hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat coronavirus patients. Hoekstra writes that “beyond the rational recommendation against hoarding as production of this medication needs to be ramped up, the letter deviates into open threats of “administrative action” against the licenses of doctors that prescribe hydroxychloroquine.” It also orders pharmacists to “ignore physician orders for this medication.”

The letter is couched in terms of wanting to protect the state’s supply of these drugs for those suffering with conditions for which the drug has always been prescribed such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. But there is an unmistakably threatening tone to the letter