PORTLAND, Maine — Maine Medical Center has joined a pair of clinical trials designed to examine the efficacy of the drug Remdesivir for the treatment of moderate and severe COVID-19.
The trials’ Principal Investigator is David Seder, M.D., MMC’s chief of critical care, and was organized under the Maine Medical Center Research Institute.
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 must be at least 12-years old, be hospitalized with COVID-19, have no underlying significant kidney or liver dysfunction and not be pregnant or breastfeeding.
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 United States 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 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.
--
Editor's note: The above video shows the story of a Maine engineering teacher who is creating an emergency ventilator with his students. Read that full story HERE.
--
At NEWS CENTER Maine, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the illness. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.newscentermaine.com/coronavirus.