Trump allegedly “enthusiastic” for oleandrin to be approved as a COVID-19 treatment
pharmafile | August 18, 2020 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development | coronavirus vaccine, covid19
President Donald Trump reportedly wants to approve Phoenix Biotechnology’s oleandrin as a coronavirus treatment, despite a lack of evidence for its effectiveness.
Oleandrin is made from the toxic shrub known as the oleander plant and is currently being used as an active principle ingredient in Phase 1 and Phase 2 cancer trials. It is also being tested in a lab as an antiviral treatment that could be used to alleviate coronavirus symptoms.
The research, published online at bioRXiv, tested oleandrin against the virus and the study concludes: “Oleandrin has been shown to produce a strong anti-inflammatory response, which may be of benefit in preventing hyper-inflammatory responses to infection with SARS-CoV-2 . We show here that low concentrations of oleandrin produce strong antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2.”
The research, led by Scott Weaver of the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses at the University of Texas Medical Branch, has been recognised as legitimate. This is despite two of the study’s authors being employed by Phoenix Biotechnology.
Currently, there are no peer reviewed studies of the treatment being tested in human patients. This raises serious questions over why Trump is supposedly leaning towards a drug which is still in the extremely early stages of testing.
There is speculation that Trump’s cosy relationship with America’s business world may be a contributing factor. Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a recent shareholder and board member of Phoenix Biotechnology, told CNN that he took part in a meeting with the President in July to discuss oleandrin as a potential coronavirus treatment.
Speaking about the meeting with the President, Lindell said: “He was enthusiastic, as he is on everything that’s going to help people”. Lindell also said he had brought the treatment up with Ben Carson, the Housing and Urban Development Secretary.
Lindell is currently serving as the chairman of Trump’s campaign in Minnesota and makes frequent public appearances on the President’s behalf.
When asked by reporters about his alleged enthusiasm for the treatment, Trump said: “We’ll look at it, we’ll look at it, we’re looking at a lot of different things. I will say the FDA has been great. They are very close. We’re very close to a vaccine. Very close to a therapeutic. I have heard that name mentioned, we’ll find out.”
Conor Kavanagh
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