The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just given the go-ahead for a clinical trial at Columbia University to determine whether plasma donated by Covid-19 survivors can be used as protection for more exposed individuals, such as health care workers, and alleviate symptoms in those who are critically ill.
The study was funded by Amazon for a budget of $2.5 million.
The use of convalescent plasma as a treatment for viral diseases is a measure that has already been adopted for decades, for example in treating influenza and measles. Its principle is based that when a patient recovers from a disease, he or she produces antibodies to combat the presence of the antigen that caused the disease itself; these antibodies will remain in the blood for a medium to long period.
The hope is that plasma from patients cured by covid-19 could be transfused into severely ill patients, helping them recover more quickly. However, it could also be used in protecting those who are more exposed, conferring some immunity. It is critical to clarify that convalescent plasma is not an alternative to a vaccine, but researchers believe the approach has potential.
The trials will be led by epidemiologist Dr. Ian Lipkin, professor at the Columbia Mailman School in collaboration with the Center for Infection and Immunity, the School of Public Health at Columbia University, Columbia's Irving Medical Center and the New York Blood Center.
"We appreciate the FDA's approval of this study, which has the potential to help us protect courageous frontline health care workers and first responders during this crisis," says Lipkin.
"Plasma therapy is a well-established approach, developed by Paul Ehrlich and Emil von Behring for the treatment of diphtheria and recognized in 1901 by the first Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine. Just as Covid-19 brought us back to the classic methods of epidemic containment as isolation, through new use we are rediscovering the life-saving potential of a classic strategy such as plasma therapy," he continued.
Source: CNBC
