Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Experimental COVID-19 Therapeutic Drug No Help to Patients with Advanced
Stage of Virus

VOA News

   U.S. government researchers say an experimental COVID-19 therapeutic
   drug is not effective at treating patients hospitalized with an
   advanced stage of the novel coronavirus.

   The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued a
   statement Monday saying it would no longer recruit new patients to take
   part in a clinical trial of the experimental drug, calledbamlanivimab.

   The drug, developedby U.S.-baseddrugmakerEli Lilly and Canadian-based
   biotech firmAbCellera, is part of a class of treatments known as
   monoclonal antibodies, which are made to act as immune cells that
   scientists hope can fight off the virus. The antibody therapy was
   similar to one given to U.S. President Donald Trump after he tested
   positive for COVID-19 earlier this month.

   The clinical trial was paused earlier this month by independent
   monitors because of safety concerns. The study, which launched in
   August, aimed to enroll 10,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients in the
   United States.

   Eli Lilly has already applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
   for emergency authorization for the drug to be used for mild to
   moderate cases of COVID-19 infections based on preliminary results from
   a different clinical trial.

   The United States is in the midst of a dramatic surge of new COVID-19
   cases, with more than 66,000 confirmed on Monday, according to data
   released by the [1]Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.The number
   of new infections has pushed several cities and states to a crisis
   point, including the southwestern city of El Paso, Texas, where the
   number of coronavirus patients has tripled to more than 800 patients
   over the past three weeks.

   The situation has become so dire in the border city that officials have
   imposed a strict 10 p.m. to 5a.m.curfewand a two-week stay-at-home
   order. The judge who issued the curfew order said the intensive care
   units in all of the city's hospitals were completely full.

   Texas Governor Greg Abbott has unveiled plans to house between 50 to
   100 patients in El Paso's convention center, and has even inquired
   about housing non-coronavirus patients at a U.S. Army hospital in the
   area.

References

   1. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/united-states

.