Why is Ivermectin Effective for So Many Different Things?

ByShaun Snapp

Executive Summary

  • Ivermectin is beneficial for so many ailments; the question naturally arises as to why.

Introduction

Many drugs are prescribed off-label, which means for things they were not approved for treatment. However, in most cases, these off-label uses are of low effectiveness. Ivermectin is a strange drug in that it has proven helpful against a wide range of ailments and is a general preventative item. This is a topic I cover in the article For How Many Diseases and Benefits Is Ivermectin Effective?

This article will cover a different but related topic, which is why a drug that began its life as an antiparasitic, which I cover in the article The Amazing Story of How Ivermectin Was Discovered is effective against so many things?

Early History of Ivermectin Versus the More Recent History

Ivermectin was only used as an antiparasitic drug for decades and is considered one of the most essential drugs ever discovered. The developers of Ivermectin received the Nobel Prize, and the drug was highly thought of.

This is reinforced by the following quotation from the article Ivermectin, ‘Wonder drug’ from Japan: the human use perspective.

There are few drugs that can seriously lay claim to the title of ‘Wonder drug’, penicillin and aspirin being two that have perhaps had greatest beneficial impact on the health and wellbeing of Mankind. But ivermectin can also be considered alongside those worthy contenders, based on its versatility, safety and the beneficial impact that it has had, and continues to have, worldwide—especially on hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest people. Several extensive reports, including reviews authored by us, have been published detailing the events behind the discovery, development and commercialization of the avermectins and ivermectin (22,23-dihydroavermectin B), as well as the donation of ivermectin and its use in combating Onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis.1–6)

When it first appeared in the late-1970s, ivermectin, a derivative of avermectin (Fig. ​(Fig.1 )1 ) was a truly revolutionary drug, unprecedented in many ways. It was the world’s first endectocide, forerunner of a completely new class of antiparasitic agents, potently active against a wide range of internal and external nematodes and arthropods. In the early-1970s, a novel international Public Sector–Private Sector partnership was initiated by one of us (Ōmura, then head of the Antibiotics Research Group at Tokyo’s Kitasato Institute), forming a collaboration with the US-based Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD) pharmaceutical company.

Today, ivermectin is being used to treat billions of livestock and pets around the world, helping to boost production of food and leather products, as well as keep billions of companion animals, particularly dogs and horses, healthy. The ‘Blockbuster’ drug in the Animal Health sector, meaning that it achieved annual sales in excess of over US$1 billion, maintained that status for over 20 years. It is so useful and adaptable that it is also being used off-label, sometimes, illegally, for example to treat fish lice in the aquaculture industry, where it can have a negative impact on non-target organisms. It also has extensive uses in agriculture.

Back in the Good Old Days — When It Was Ok to Praise Ivermectin

I want to point out that this article was written in 2011, long before covid and before Ivermectin was being tested much outside of its original use as an antiparasitic.

How Ivermectin Became a Disreputable Drug

As the years went on, Ivermectin began to be found to be effective against one ailment after another. For example, one of the most unexpected benefits of Ivermectin was found against nerve damage, which I cover in the article How Does Ivermectin Treat Neuropathy and Nerve Damage?

As I cover in the article The Cancers That Ivermectin Has Been Demonstrated to be Effective, Ivermectin has been proven effective against every type of cancer for which. I have read a study where it has been tested, as I cover in the article By How Many Different Mechanisms Does Ivermectin Fight Cancer?

  • Cancer centers have no interest in having Ivermectin approved as a treatment for cancer, as cancer preventative, or in discussing the studies of Ivermectin versus cancer. Most new cancer drugs average around $250,000 annually, and the treatment is highly profitable for cancer centers. Johns Hopkins will not tell their patients about Ivermectin for cancer.