Maine Medical Center (MMC) has joined a pair of clinical trials designed to examine the efficacy of the drug Remdesivir for treatment of moderate and severe COVID-19. The trials’ Principal Investigator is David Seder, MD, MMC’s chief of critical care and was organized under the MMC Research Institute (MMCRI).
MMC enrolled its first patient in the study of treatment for severe disease on April 9 and now has three patients enrolled in that study. MMC has not yet enrolled patients in the study of moderate disease. Study participants will be at least 12 years old, be hospitalized with COVID-19, have not underlying significant kidney or liver dysfunction will not be pregnant or breastfeeding.
“Unless clinical research is conducted to identify which treatments are effective, doctors, nurses and other frontline caregivers will continue will be limited in how they can care for these patients,” Dr. Seder said. “Clinical tests require multi-disciplinary teams who are dedicated to advancing science and patient care so we can develop effective, evidence-based therapies.”
While a preliminary study of 53 patients showed Remdesivir may have some clinical activity against COVID-19, the drug is not yet licensed or approved in the US and has not been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of COVID-19. These two studies will enroll up to 7,600 patients worldwide. They are being sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Inc., which manufactures the drug.
Currently, MMC is the only hospital enrolling patients in this study in the state of Maine.