FDA Clears New Coronavirus Treatment as Others Enter Clinical Trials: WSOU News Update

Date: March 19, 2020

By Bob Towey

With a COVID-19 vaccine still a year away from approval, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of a malaria drug proven to help combat the virus on Thursday.

Hydroxychloroquine also treats arthritis, but scientists in France discovered it can fight the coronavirus either alone or paired with azithromycin for more serious cases. The researchers used the combination in clinical trials with 36 coronavirus patients and cured 70 percent of cases.

“The nice part is, it’s been around for a long time, so we know that if things don’t go as planned it’s not going to kill anybody,” President Donald Trump said in a press conference announcing the FDA’s decision.

Half the patients in the French trial tested negative for the coronavirus after three days on the hydroxychloroquine regimen, with another 20 percent healthy by the sixth day. The treatment’s success marks one of the most effective methods for lessening COVID-19 symptoms to date.

American scientists are also testing whether an Ebola therapy called remdesivir can effectively control coronavirus cases.

The experimental treatment appears to have remedied two severe coronavirus cases in Washington State earlier this month. After administering remdesivir, doctors found it helped wean one patient off a ventilator and eased both their fevers and breathing trouble.

President Trump said Thursday that his administration was rolling back regulations to facilitate testing and potentially approving remdesivir. Clinical trials for the therapy will end in early April according to the drug’s developer, Gilead Sciences.

The FDA’s decision came as Senate Republicans proposed a third COVID-19 stimulus package designed to alleviate the economic burdens facing many Americans in the wake of virus-related business closures and layoffs.

The measure would provide $1,200 cash payments to affected Americans, increasing $500 for every child within a family. It would also postpone tax filing from April 15 to July 15.

Senate Republicans allocated $150 billion toward suffering businesses, plus $50 billion for airlines and $8 billion for air cargo companies. All told, the relief plan will cost an estimated $1 trillion.

“We need to take bold and swift action as soon as possible,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said as he unveiled the legislation.

Posted in: WSOU, WSOU Exclusive