New Drug to Treat COVID-19 Patients to begin Clinical Trials
As the battle against COVID-19 continues, one pharmaceutical research and development company is about to add another weapon for hospitals to use to save lives and combat the effects of the virus.
FSD Pharma BioSciences recently submitted an application to the FDA to being phase 2 trials of a new drug that may relieve the deadliest effect of COVID-19, giving patients in hospitals a much better chance at survival.
For most people who contract COVID, the symptoms are mild and often comparable to the FLU or a stomach bug. But for thousands in this pandemic the effects are much more severe. This is due in large part to the body’s reaction, particularly in the lungs.
Inflammation of the small air sacks in the lungs can cause some individuals to suffer respiratory distress – they simply cannot get air into the body from the lungs. This is referred to as a ‘cytokine storm.’ Doctors are left with no choice but to place these patients on a ventilator – and most do not survive from this point.
The new drug from FSD Pharma is called FSD201 (ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide, or ultramicronized PEA).
It works by stopping this inflammation because of the drug’s anti-inflammatory properties. If successful, this would allow the patient’s lungs to keep working and deliver oxygen to the body while the patient recovers from the virus.
Once they get the FDA approval, FSD will move forward with the phase 2 trial of FSD201.
The clinical trial will consist of random patients across multiple locations using a controlled, double-blind approach which will compare results of the drug vs. patients who receive a placebo and continue to receive the current standard care.
Twenty-five to thirty locations in Canada and the U.S. will participate in the study.
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