Aug 19 (Reuters) – Emergency approval of blood plasma as a potential COVID-19 treatment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now been stopped, the New York Times reported Wednesday, with two administration officials.
A group of top federal health officials including Anthony Fauci have claimed that emerging data on treatment were too weak, the report said, adding that an emergency permit could still be issued in the very near future. (https://nyti.ms/31aFBzb)
The authorization is currently pending as more data is tested, reports the NYT, citing Clifford Lane, the clinical director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institute of Health.
The FDA and NIH did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
People who survive an infectious disease such as COVID-19 are left with blood plasma that contains antibodies, like proteins that made up the body’s immune system, to fight a virus. This can be passed on to newly infected patients to try to help the recovery.
An FDA authorization for emergency use could provide faster access to therapy for the pandemic.
(Report by Trisha Roy in Bengaluru; Edited by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
