⁍ The group, known as the CoVIg Plasma Alliance, enrolled its first patient in the Phase III trial on Friday.
⁍ It aims to enroll 500 adult patients from the United States, Mexico and 16 other countries and hope to have results by the end of the year.
– A potentially groundbreaking treatment for a rare blood disorder is now in a late-stage trial, and it’s made from the blood of people who’ve recovered from the disease. “The likelihood it works is very high,” Takeda Pharmaceutical’s CEO tells Reuters. “And that’s why we have launched a campaign in order to accelerate the donation of convalescent plasma to manufacture and produce this product.” The treatment, called hyperimmune globulin therapy, is derived from the blood of people who’ve recovered from the disease, called chronic hepatitis B virus, or COVID-19. It’s designed to fight the virus more effectively than existing treatments, and it’s been shown to be more effective when paired with an antiviral drug. The CoVIg Plasma Alliance has enrolled its first patient in the late-stage trial, and hopes to have results by the end of the year.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-takeda/takeda-group-begins-manufacturing-covid-19-plasma-treatment-ahead-of-approval-idUSKBN26Y08B