UCLA is part of NIH-sponsored clinical trial for possible COVID-19 therapies

UCLA Health is one of 75 sites around the globe participating in a clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to test the effectiveness of a candidate antiviral drug against COVID-19.

The drug, called remdesivir, was originally developed as a treatment for Ebola. Although it was found to be safe, it was not effective in treating patients with the disease. In laboratory tests, however, it appears to work against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, which has raised hope that it may be effective against the coronavirus that has swept the globe, sickening and killing thousands.

The clinical trial was launched by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 

Dr. Otto Yang, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, is leading the UCLA trial with substantial support from the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).

This is one of several trials of different agents under investigation at UCLA to use against the disease. Dr. Judith Currier, chief of the UCLA Division of Infectious Diseases at the Geffen School, and Dr. Arash Naeim, chief medical officer for clinical research for UCLA Health, are co-chairs of a clinical research task force that is coordinating these studies across multiple units on campus, such as the UCLA CTSI and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. 

Click here to search for all COVID-19 clinical trials at UCLA. 

Read the full UCLA press release.

Image source: istock.com

Image caption: Presenters at the Harbor Trauma Symposium prepare to speak at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center.