Researchers will give the drug, EDP1815, developed by Evelo Biosciences Inc., to newly hospitalized COVID-19 patients at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey to determine if it can regulate the onslaught of cytokine proteins—which cause the immune system to malfunction and become deadly—and is the reason for severe cases of respiratory distress and death. “An earlier clinical trial of the drug in non-COVID-19 patients showed minimal side effects and was effective in reducing the hyperinflammatory response without suppressing the immune system,” says Reynold Panettieri Jr., vice chancellor for translational medicine and science at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, who is leading the trial. “Our further evaluation in COVID-19 patients will discover how the drug offers benefits those at risk from developing severe complications related to the virus.” To read the full story.
Clinical Trial Tests Drug for COVID-19 ‘CYTOKINE STORMS’
