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USC Seeking Volunteers For COVID-19 Antibody Treatment

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A clinical trial for a COVID-19 antibody drug is looking for volunteers in the Los Angeles area, Keck Medicine of USC reported Tuesday.

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A Testing Center specialist with personal protective equipment (PPE) assists a driver as she self-administers a test at a drive-in Covid-19 testing site in south Los Angeles, California on November 14, 2020. - After California passed 1 million coronavirus cases a travel advisory was issued on November 13 urging a two-week quarantine for those arriving from other states or countries. (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP) (Photo by APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images)

The nationwide phase 3 clinical trial is for a monoclonal antibody drug known as LY-CoV555, Keck Medicine reports. The treatment, from drug maker Eli Lily, is specifically designed for patients with mild or moderate cases of coronavirus.

President Donald Trump was treated with a monoclonal antibody drug known as Regeneron when he contracted coronavirus last month.

"Monoclonal antibodies are synthetic versions of the antibodies the body naturally produces when exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19," Keck Medicine wrote in a news release. "When given during the early stages of COVID-19, these antibodies may prevent the virus from replicating and spreading."

Dr. Saahir Khan, a USC researcher working on the trial, says that the drug has shown some success at keeping patients with moderate cases of COVID-19 from being hospitalized.

To participate, you must be 18 or older and need to have tested positive for COVID-19 within seven days of enrolling in the trial.

The double-blind trial will involve giving participants a one-time infusion of either the drug or a placebo. Participants will then be monitored for 24 weeks.

If you are interested in enrolling, click here.

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