Coronavirus – clinical trials #4

If an experiment or clinical trial were to show that a drug treatment could cure Covid-19 or block it from making the patient sicker, then Mill’s Method of Difference only identifies that the drug treatment works. A more complete causal explanation would include explaining why the drug treatment works. I have not seen any such explanation why regarding hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) or HCQ + zinc. Maybe somebody can explain why, but I can't. The only drug treatment I have read about that plausibly explains why it works is RLF-100, i.e. aviptadil (Coronavirus - drug news).

News

Yesterday Yahoo News reported that the FDA granted Investigational New Drug (IND) permission to test the use of RLF-100, i.e. aviptadil, for patients with moderate and severe Covid-19 in order to prevent progression to respiratory failure (Yahoo News). 

Also yesterday President Trump signed an executive order requiring U.S. government agencies to purchase “all essential medicines” from American sources (NBC News). The patent for RLF-100 is owned by a Swiss company. On the other hand, it is partnering with NeuroRx, a USA-Israel company, to produce and sell the drug in the USA. I won't try to predict how the executive order will affect RLF-100's future.