STAFF REPORT
With researchers worldwide racing to find a treatment for the COVID-19 virus, Sarasota Memorial Hospital officials announced Thursday that the hospital has joined two national clinical trials related to the treatment of the disease.
The first study is testing the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir, while the second trial is evaluating the use of plasma donated by three people who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat current patients.
Remdesivir, which SMH began using Sunday with three patients, has previously shown promise in the treatment of other types of coronaviruses. SMH is one of the first hospitals in the Southeast region to participate in this worldwide study to assess the medication’s safety and effectiveness in treating COVID-19.
To be given the option to participate in the FDA-approved remdesivir trial at SMH, COVID-19 positive patients must be hospitalized in the ICU, on a ventilator, and meet other clinical criteria.
The convalescent plasma study is a clinical trial that is coordinated with the Mayo Clinic to evaluate whether the antibodies in plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 can help newly infected patients. The plasma from just one donor can be used to treat up to four patients.
SMH is partnering with the Suncoast Blood Centers, which will collect and provide the donated plasma for this FDA-approved trial. Sarasota Memorial Hospital – Florida State University Internal Medicine resident physicians will collaborate with the SMH Clinical Research Team to help gather data to conduct this research.
“There is currently no proven, established treatment for COVID-19, which is why participating in this important research is a priority for SMH,” said SMH CEO David Verinder. “We are grateful to the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation for immediately stepping in to help support this work.”
Clinical research has always been one of the Healthcare Foundation’s key areas of focus.
“The Healthcare Foundation’s role is to support SMH in its mission of providing excellent healthcare to our community in good times—and in crisis,” Mason Ayres, president of Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, said in a statement. “We are incredibly thankful for the way our community continues to come forward and help during this unprecedented time of need.”
With a likely vaccine at least a year away, SMH officials said they were pleased to add the investigational treatments to their arsenal of care for COVID-19 patients.
In addition to participating in the two clinical trials, Sarasota Memorial also is using the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as well as high dose steroids and specialized antibiotics in the treatment of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
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