Clinical Trials Underway In Colorado For COVID Antibody Treatment The President Received
(CBS4) - An antibody treatment taken by President Donald Trump after his COVID-19 diagnosis is the focus of clinical trials at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus.
CBS4 viewers first met UCHealth nurse Mary Ann Flick over the summer after she was diagnosed with COVID-19. She recovered from the virus while participating in a Regeneron antibody clinical trial at UCHealth.
"I feel 100 percent back to normal," Flick said. "I was having some pretty bad muscle aches, fever, and chills."
The antibody clinical trials at UCHealth are part of several trials of monoclonal antibodies sponsored by Regeneron.
"I did the infusion, they did swabs, plenty of swabs through a couple week period, some routine blood work."
Trump received the same treatment after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
"The president received the same combination of two monoclonal antibodies that are being used in the clinical trials. The president did not enroll in a clinical trial, the president received these antibodies through what's called 'compassionate use,'" said infectious disease expert Dr. Thomas Campbell.
According to UCHealth, the drug is so new that the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it yet for most hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
"We still need to continue on and conduct a trial so we know for sure what the safety and efficacy are for this type of approach," said Dr. Campbell, who is leading the trial. "In order for the public to have confidence in the outcome of these trials, it's important that the science be left to the scientists."
Mary Ann Flick hopes people who may have been diagnosed with COVID-19 consider getting involved in trials.
"I think it's a great way to get some more insight into what we can do to hopefully tackle this and get through this as fast as we can," Flick said.
Dr. Campbell says so far the antibodies appear to be safe, with very few side effects. He says early findings show compared to people who got the placebo, those who got the antibody recovered from COVID-19 slightly faster. The trials continue at UCHealth.
