It's my belief that PSTI's, and perhaps one or two others, will change the outcome for the greater majority of patients with serious cases of pneumonia. Ultimately more than one may be approved for use, and the question of what will be used may largely be based on availability.
Yes, we know that existing drugs help, but while available, and cheap, they won't produce results that compare with PLX-PAD as long as trial results mirror what initial compassionate use results have been. Of the companies that may have comparable results, I believe that PSTI has the greatest capability of providing substantial quantities quickly.
If I'm correct about the above, I believe our drug will be utilized for many Covid-19 patients, and I think it will be found that if administered shortly after pneumonia is diagnosed, most patients can avoid hospitalization, so while the treatment cost may be high, the overall cost is significantly lower than an extensive hospital stay. I don't believe insurance, or anyone else will balk at giving the drug. I would expect that we can gain an emergency approval within weeks of initial trial findings which hopefully might be in August or September based on the 28 day evaluation of the last patient to enter the trial.
All indications here in the U.S. are that the curve hasn't been brought down nearly as much as in much of the rest of the world. Some states are rising in the worst way, hospitalizations approaching capacity. While other states are more stable, even have hospitalizations coming down, though totals with the disease may be rising, the numbers passing on are still only coming down slowly. I don't know that any states are going to shut down after re-opening, but I believe they'll need to really push use of masks and social distancing. The message coming from Washington needs to change, masks can't be optional if we're going to bring the curve down, and not let it take off again.
Protests may have caused greater infection, but there is growing evidence that it's much safer to be outdoors than indoors if you're in a crowd. The President's rally is probably the worst case scenario as people are not only indoors, they're immobile so if someone has it, those seated near them for the duration of the rally are being heavily exposed, especially if not wearing masks. The idea that all who attend must sign a waiver tells you it's not safe, but plenty of the President's fans don't mind taking the risk.
I would hope a vaccine is available before next year, I do believe it's a possibility. As a senior who's immune compromised I'd hope to be among the earliest to receive it, once it's been determined effective. I believe even with a vaccine, precautions will need to be taken until such time as the numbers with the disease, and especially the numbers in hospitals, are nearly zero. I hope that by this time next year life has returned to a normal that permits us to do much of what we previously did. I'm not sure that normal as it was will ever be again.
Gary
