Recovery plasma of a patient with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seen at the Central Seattle Donor Center of Bloodworks Northwest during the outbreak in Seattle, Washington, April 17, 2020.
Lindsey Wasson | Reuters
The National Institutes of Health said Tuesday that a trial to test recovery plasma in patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms has been halted after an independent group of experts concluded it was unlikely to be beneficial.
The Independent Data and Safety Monitoring Council met on February 25 to review the data and determined that although the plasma treatment did not cause any harm, it was unlikely to benefit this group of patients, the NIH said in a release . After the meeting, the DSMB recommended that the NIH stop enrolling new patients in the study, the agency said.
Scientists and public health officials have previously said they are skeptical that recovery plasma is an effective treatment for patients with Covid, even after the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency permit for the treatment in August and former President Donald Trump called it a ‘ considered breakthrough ‘. . “
At the time, dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner, said the treatment could help patients, but it did not look like a home-based business. He does agree that recovery plasma “definitely” meets the standard for an emergency clearance “in the vicinity of a public health emergency.”
The plasma, which is taken from patients who have recovered from Covid-19 and developed antibodies against the virus, is administered to sick patients. Scientists hoped it would help patients’ immune systems fight the virus.
In January, REMAP-CAP, an international clinical trial investigating potential treatments for Covid, discontinued its study to restore blood plasma after investigators found no benefit. The decision of the REMAP-CAP came after an initial analysis of more than 900 participants in intensive care for serious diseases showed that the treatment with the product did not significantly improve the patient’s health.
The NIH trial was conducted at 47 hospital wards across the United States and enrolled 511 of the 900 recruitment targets for participants. After the participants received the plasma or a placebo, researchers checked whether the participants had to seek further emergencies or urgent care, were admitted to hospital or died within 15 days of being on trial.