The National Institutes of Health has launched an adaptive Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of three immune modulator drugs in hospitalized adults with COVID-19. Some COVID-19 patients experience an immune response in which the immune system unleashes excessive amounts of proteins that trigger inflammation — called a “cytokine storm” — that can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiple organ failure and other life-threatening complications. The clinical trial aims to determine if modulating that immune response can reduce the need for ventilators and shorten hospital stays. The trial, known as ACTIV-1 Immune Modulators (IM), will determine if the therapeutics are able to restore balance to an overactive immune system.Continue reading→

UArizona Heath Sciences researchers developed one of the most accurate COVID-19 antibody tests available and now have shown antibodies persist for months after infection, providing long-term immunity.Continue reading→

Daniel O’Day – October 08, 2020

With today’s publication of new data on remdesivir in the New England Journal of Medicine, we have the clearest picture yet of the medicine’s impact on COVID-19. Over the past months, we had already generated a wealth of clinical data on the benefits of remdesivir, providing much-needed hope to patients and healthcare providers worldwide. On the basis of this data, remdesivir has been approved or authorized for temporary use to treat COVID-19 in more than 50 countries worldwide. Today’s peer-reviewed data come from the gold standard randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study led by the U.S National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). They provide new information that expands on the benefits of remdesivir and offer greater hope than ever in the fight against COVID-19.Continue reading→