British drug giant AstraZeneca is rushing forward a big clinical trial for its blood cancer drug Calquence because it has shown early promising results in later-stage COVID-19 patients—those in intensive care units and on ventilators
Jeff Chiu/ASSOCIATED PRESS
As Calquence enters into a randomized, controlled clinical trial, the NCI noted that while the drug is already approved in the U.S. for some blood cancers, it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for COVID-19. Early last week, AstraZeneca formed a COVID-19 task force after receiving early data regarding patients given Calquence by the NCI. Baselga said that within 72 hours the company had completed drafting a COVID-19 clinical trial and submitted it to the FDA, the fastest study he has ever seen put together in his 30-year career. Such an effort would normally take more than three months.
One tricky issue AstraZeneca has had to work through is how to give Calquence, which is a capsule, to patients who are on ventilators. AstraZeneca is advising doctors to give the drug through a tube in a solution made up of Coca-Cola, which due to its acidity properly liquefies the powder. The drug has already been administered in such a fashion.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Doctor treating COVID-19 patients gambles on clot-busting drugDoctors caring for the sickest COVID-19 patients are trying new ways to attack the coronavirus. One theory is that they have blood clots in their lungs.
Read more »
Doctor treating COVID-19 patients gambles on clot-busting drugDoctors caring for the sickest COVID-19 patients are trying new ways to attack the coronavirus. One theory is that they have blood clots in their lungs.
Read more »
The promise of COVID-19 antibody testingWe do not yet know if all COVID-19 patients are able to mount effective immunity and prevent reinfection.
Read more »
How Southern Politics are Failing One Town’s Coronavirus ResponseAs rural hospitals have closed, nearby cities like Athens, Ga., have absorbed more patients. Covid-19 will test them.
Read more »
Why New York has been hit so hard by coronavirus'Sadly, the likeliest explanation for the high death rate is the chronically inadequate health care given to minorities and the poor throughout New York City, as in the rest of the country,' writes Kent Sepkowitz for CNNOpinion.
Read more »
Covid-19 numbers show promise, but health experts warn each state is a different battlegroundMore than 22,000 people in the US have died from Covid-19. At least 557,300 cases of the virus have been reported in the US, with New York alone reporting 190,288, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally.
Read more »