The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

  • Home
  • Latest News
  • Local
    • Palmdale
    • Lancaster
    • Los Angeles County
    • Littlerock
    • Lake Los Angeles
    • Rosamond
    • Edwards AFB
    • Acton
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Advertise
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    Show Search

UCLA participating in hydroxychloroquine clinical trials

by City News Service • April 30, 2020

LOS ANGELES – UCLA is one of seven sites participating in a clinical trial investigating whether hydroxychloroquine, a commonly used anti-malarial and autoimmune drug, can prevent infection with COVID-19, it was announced Thursday.

The multi-site study led by the University of Washington in collaboration with six other university centers, is now enrolling 2,000 participants who are close contacts of persons who are confirmed or suspected to be infected with COVID-19. The aim is to determine whether hydroxychloroquine can prevent infection in people exposed to the virus.

“There has been a lot of speculation as to whether hydroxychloroquine can treat or prevent COVID-19,” said Dr. Raphael J. Landovitz, professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases, at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and principal investigator at the UCLA site. “This study provides an important opportunity for Los Angeles to partner with UW and the other collaborators to help answer this question definitively.”

All trial participants will be carefully screened to ensure they do not have an allergy to the medication or condition that could put them at high risk of any adverse side effects. They will also be monitored through telehealth consultations, according to UCLA researchers.

The trial is slated to run over eight weeks. The researchers said they expect to have answers by summer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration supports the use of hydroxychloroquine in clinical trials investigating its effectiveness against COVID-19, but has issued a warning against its use outside of the setting of clinical trials or in treating hospitalized patients, where close safety monitoring can be assured.

The $9.5 million trial looking at post-exposure preventive therapy for COVID-19 is part of an initiative launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome and Mastercard to speed development and access to therapies against the respiratory virus that has spread throughout the world. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator is funded by the three organizations and an array of government and private sector donors. The hydroxychloroquine trial is one of many approaches the group is funding.

Hydroxychloroquine has been used since the early 1950s to prevent malaria and treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. It has a long track record of safety for these conditions, and is being studied in similar or lower doses for the prevention of COVID-19. The medication is hypothesized to prevent COVID-19 from infecting cells.

Trial participants are randomly assigned to take hydroxychloroquine or a placebo over two weeks, and nasal swab samples are collected and tested daily to confirm new COVID-19 infections across the two groups. Sandoz, a Novartis division, has donated the hydroxychloroquine doses for the study, according to UCLA.

“We currently don’t know if hydroxychloroquine works, but we will learn in as short a time frame as possible what the outcome is,” said Ruanne Barnabas, the trial’s principal investigator and associate professor of global health at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health. “Our goal is to stop transmission of COVID-19 in the community.”

If the drug does not work, investigators can put their time and energy into other prevention and treatment interventions, Barnabas said.

–

Filed Under: Health, Home, Los Angeles County

2 comments for "UCLA participating in hydroxychloroquine clinical trials"

  1. William says

    May 2, 2020 at 6:22 am

    If hope worked Ron, you’d be rich and good looking.

    It didn’t happen.

  2. Ron says

    May 1, 2020 at 9:41 am

    Let’s hope it works and get a cure soon.

Recent Comments

  • Efrem Zimbalist Jr. on Palmdale authorities apprehend graffiti vandals, including armed suspect: “Michelle, have you spoken to the FBI about Rex?” Aug 27, 11:23
  • Frances on Judge orders arbitration of Allied Security guard’s sexual harassment lawsuit: “Does anyone know any more about this case? This is about someone I know and I believe full heartedly that…” Aug 26, 19:42
  • Lily on Palmdale authorities apprehend graffiti vandals, including armed suspect: “@Michelle Egberts… Hi Michelle, remember Jim? Madalyn and Jim were friends of mine.” Aug 23, 06:47
  • Michelle Egberts on Palmdale authorities apprehend graffiti vandals, including armed suspect: “@ Tim Scott… I couldn’t have said it more eloquently Tim!!! We have to get together and catch up over…” Aug 21, 00:58
  • Mars on Palmdale authorities apprehend graffiti vandals, including armed suspect: “Give Them Cleaning Supplies Clean Up The Graffiti For 3 months Also Have Them Do Community Service As Well Then…” Aug 15, 02:54

Copyright © 2024 · The AV Times LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use

Dear Readers,

After more than a decade of serving the Antelope Valley, we have made the difficult decision to close The Antelope Valley Times. The site will no longer be updated, but all past articles will remain accessible. Thank you for your loyalty and support over the years.

—The AV Times Staff