On July 28 (electronic) and July 29 (print edition), the Wall Street Journal published an article by Charley Hooper and me on ivermectin. At our request, the Journal published a correction that we provided on the evening of July 28 and our letter to the editor. The letter to the editor is appended below.

Because over 30 days have passed, I’m free to upload the whole article.

Here’s the article:

The Food and Drug Administration claims to follow the science. So why is it attacking ivermectin, a medication it certified in 1996?

Earlier this year the agency put out a special warning that “you should not use ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19.” The FDA’s statement included words and phrases such as “serious harm,” “hospitalized,” “dangerous,” “very dangerous,” “seizures,” “coma and even death” and “highly toxic.” Any reader would think the FDA was warning against poison pills. In fact, the drug is FDA-approved as a safe and effective antiparasitic.

Ivermectin was developed and marketed by Merck while one of us (Mr. Hooper) worked there years ago. William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering and developing avermectin, which Mr. Campbell and associates modified to create ivermectin.

Ivermectin is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Merck has donated four billion doses to prevent river blindness and other diseases in Africa and other places where parasites are common. A group of 10 doctors who call themselves the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance have said ivermectin is “one of the safest, low-cost, and widely available drugs in the history of medicine.”

Ivermectin fights 21 viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the cause of Covid-19. A single dose reduced the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in cells by 99.8% in 24 hours and 99.98% in 48 hours, according to a June 2020 study published in the journal Antiviral Research.

Some 70 clinical trials are evaluating the use of ivermectin for treating Covid-19. The statistically significant evidence suggests that it is safe and works for both treating and preventing the disease.

In 115 patients with Covid-19 who received a single dose of ivermectin, none developed pneumonia or cardiovascular complications, while 11.4% of those in the control group did. Fewer ivermectin patients developed respiratory distress (2.6% vs. 15.8%); fewer required oxygen (9.6% vs. 45.9%); fewer required antibiotics (15.7% vs. 60.2%); and fewer entered intensive care (0.1% vs. 8.3%). Ivermectin-treated patients tested negative faster, in four days instead of 15, and stayed in the hospital nine days on average instead of 15. Ivermectin patients experienced 13.3% mortality compared with 24.5% in the control group.

Moreover, the drug can help prevent Covid-19. One 2020 article in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications looked at what happened after the drug was given to family members of confirmed Covid-19 patients. Less than 8% became infected, versus 58.4% of those untreated.

Despite the FDA’s claims, ivermectin is safe at approved doses. Out of four billion doses administered since 1998, there have been only 28 cases of serious neurological adverse events, according to an article published this year in the American Journal of Therapeutics. The same study found that ivermectin has been used safely in pregnant women, children and infants.

If the FDA were driven by science and evidence, it would give an emergency-use authorization for ivermectin for Covid-19. Instead, the FDA asserts without evidence that ivermectin is dangerous.

At the bottom of the FDA’s warning against ivermectin is this statement: “Meanwhile, effective ways to limit the spread of COVID-19 continue to be to wear your mask, stay at least 6 feet from others who don’t live with you, wash hands frequently, and avoid crowds.” Is this based on the kinds of double-blind studies that the FDA requires for drug approvals? No.

Correction
This article has been edited to remove a reference to a study of 200 healthcare workers by Ahmed Elgazzar of Benha University in Egypt. Messrs. Henderson and Hooper relied on a summary of studiespublished in the American Journal of Therapeutics. They learned after publication that this study has been retracted because of charges of data manipulation.

Our letter to the editor, which ran in the July 29 electronic edition (July 30 print):

We, the authors of “Why Is the FDA Attacking a Safe, Effective Drug?” (op-ed, July 29), have egg on our faces. Relying on a summary of studies published in the American Journal of Therapeutics, we quoted the results from a study of 200 healthcare workers. After our article was published, we learned that this study, by Ahmed Elgazzar of Benha University in Egypt, has recently been retracted due to serious charges of data manipulation.

We retract the part of our article that relied on the data from Dr. Elgazzar’s study. But the broader point stands: There’s strong evidence of ivermectin’s efficacy in treating Covid-19.

David R. Henderson

Charles L. Hooper
Grass Valley, Calif.

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Investors are eagerly waiting for the anticipated Discord IPO. The company is one of the most anticipated IPOs of the year, and it could happen as soon as late 2021.

So, what’s the latest news on the anticipated Discord IPO? Here’s what we know…

Discord IPO: About the Business

Discord is a communication platform that enables chat, audio and video communication, file sharing and other features.

The company was founded in 2015 to solve a big problem: communicating with friends online while playing games. Founders Jason Citron and Stan Vishnevskiy shared a love of video games and the friendships and connections that came from them. But communication tools were slow, unreliable and complex. Surely there could be a more reliable service to help gamers communicate?

Discord has expanded its reach beyond the gaming community since its inception. In 2020, the company reported 70% of its user base used the platform for non-gaming purposes. The platform is used for various activities including virtual classes, groups, clubs and conventions. Today, Discord has an established audience with 150 million monthly active users.

There are several apps that provide similar capabilities, but Discord stands out with a few unique features…

• Users can communicate through private and public groups called servers. There are groups within servers called channels. Most games have their own dedicated servers. And groups can form their own private servers.
• It works on any platform. Windows, iOS, Android, Xbox, Playstation and more are supported.
• The platform is compatible with other apps. Discord can sync to apps like Twitch, Mixer, YouTube, Spotify and other popular applications.
• Users can screen share. The feature allows users to hang out and play games or browse social apps together

Investors and analysts expect Discord to continue to grow its 19 million weekly active servers. In the future, many analysts anticipate that Discord users will create more servers and use the app in new ways. And the last two years have shown that to be true.

Discord Reported Continuous Growth During Pandemic

The pandemic altered many people’s ability to connect with friends and family. Furthermore, stay-at-home mandates restricted what people could do or how they could use their free time.

People turned to new ways of passing the time throughout the pandemic. Many people took up new hobbies, interests and connections during quarantine. For some, it meant an at-home project. Others may have joined a cooking class. And many took up video games to pass time.

Many people were able to find a sense of community using the Discord app and the servers and channels within the platform. On Discord’s business blog, the co-founders wrote…

2020’s been a heavy year for all of us and we’re honored that many of you have turned to Discord to find belonging and comfort during such a challenging time. We’re just glad we’ve been able to be helpful in any way possible…

 

It’s been inspiring to see all the creative ways you’ve been using Discord to stay close despite spending more time apart. We’ve seen tons of new organizations, events, and groups join Discord to create their own spaces: College students recreating the campus club atmosphere; activists organizing around political and social movements; friends playing Among Us all around the world; and even couples hosting virtual wedding ceremonies.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in gamers at home, Discord has shown continuous growth in user numbers. Discord is expanding both its gaming and non-gaming markets rapidly. As a result, investors are increasingly looking for ways to invest in the company. Let’s take a look at Discord’s funding and finances…

Discord Turns Down Acquisition Offers in Favor of IPO

A number of venture capital firms have backed Discord. This includes Greylock, IVP, Benchmark, Spark Capital and Greenoaks Capital. The company has gone through several funding rounds and market experts expect Discord to announce a new funding round soon.

In May, Sony announced a $100 million deal to integrate Discord chat with the PlayStation, one the company’s most valuable products. The company was last privately valued at $7 billion, according to TechCrunch.

There have been several attempts to acquire Discord. Earlier this year, Microsoft made the company an offer for $10 billion. Discord turned down Microsoft, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other past acquisition offers included Amazon, Twitter and Epic Games, according to Bloomberg. Instead, a Discord IPO was rumored to be on its way to the market. That means Discord stock could trade on the open market soon.

Despite the fact that the app has denied the merger rumors, an official statement about a Discord IPO has yet to release. But the anticipated funding round could value the company at $15 billion. And funding rumors after turning down acquisition offers have investors on the edge of their seats.

Until Discord goes public, the company is privately held — and so are its finances. The company hasn’t disclosed much information on that end. But we’ll give you the latest updates on the company’s finances when the filing becomes public if you stick around. Let’s take a look at some filing details we do know…

Discord IPO Filing Details

There have been no official announcements for the Discord IPO. The company has yet to file paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to begin the IPO process. But the company hired its first-ever CFO in March, and it has investors speculating that Discord could make announcements to go public soon.

While there is no official date for the IPO, hints for future plans toward going public should have investors preparing.

From Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) to Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA), there are many opportunities to invest in gaming companies that have hit the market. And you could bring in massive gains if you stay ahead of the trends and do your research.

As always, make sure to research before you invest. IPOs can be volatile for the first few months. And share prices can change quickly. But if IPO investing interests you, check out our top recent IPOs and our IPO calendar. We update it daily to give you the latest news on upcoming and filed IPOs.

If you’re looking for the latest investment opportunities, consider signing up for Liberty Through Wealth. This free e-letter is full of market insights from leading experts. You’ll hear directly from bestselling author and investment expert Alexander Green. He’s also worked as an investment advisor, research analyst and portfolio manager on Wall Street for 16 years.

The post Discord IPO Could Come in Late 2021: Information for Investors appeared first on Investment U.

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