McFarland Clinic in Ames needs volunteers who have been exposed to COVID-19 and have been having symptoms for less than a week to participate in drug treatment trials. | H Shaw/Unsplash
McFarland Clinic in Ames needs volunteers who have been exposed to COVID-19 and have been having symptoms for less than a week to participate in drug treatment trials. | H Shaw/Unsplash
An antibody cocktail used in the recent treatment of President Donald Trump for COVID-19 is now in clinical trials, with McFarland Clinic in Ames serving as one of the testing sites, and volunteers who have been exposed to COVID-19 needed.
Dr. Jennifer Killion, the principal investigator at the McFarland Clinic told KCCI that from the start, the only treatment for the novel coronavirus has been supportive care. Trials such as the one McFarland Clinic is participating in are trying to find treatments that may actually assist the body by pushing back against the disease.
Two current studies underway are looking into the effectiveness of the drug Regeneron in treating COVID-19, according to KCCI. Both are looking for Iowans who have been exposed to someone with the novel coronavirus to participate in the trials.
To be eligible, individuals cannot have had symptoms of the disease for more than seven days, according to KCCI.
“If we don't have people who come in and volunteer for these studies, we won't ever get anything to market,” Killion told KCCI.
Alerts Sign-up