Human trial of antibody therapy to treat COVID-19 underway

Human trial of antibody therapy to treat COVID-19 underway

The first human trial of an antibody therapy to treat COVID-19 is underway, CNN reported Monday.

According to maker Eli Lilly, the phase 1 trial is designed to find if the drug is safe and well tolerated. Results are expected this month. If the drug does prove safe and effective, it could be available for use by the fall, according to CNN.

"Until now, scientists have been trying to repurpose medicines, drugs, that were designed for new diseases to see if they work in COVID-19, but as soon as this epidemic started, we got to work making a new against this disease," Dan Skovronsky, M.D., Eli Lilly's senior vice president and chief scientific officer, told CNN. "Now we're ready and testing it in patients."

Eli Lilly is already manufacturing the antibody therapy. "If it does work, we don't want to waste a single day, we want to have as much medicine as possible available to help as many people quickly," Skovronsky said.

More information: CNN Article

Copyright © 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Citation: Human trial of antibody therapy to treat COVID-19 underway (2020, June 2) retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-human-trial-antibody-therapy-covid-.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Novartis backs hydroxychloroquine trial in COVID-19 fight

1 shares

Feedback to editors