GILD - Alexion Pharmaceuticals to Initiate Phase 3 Study for Ultomiris as a Potential Coronavirus Treatment
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN) recently announced that it would initiate a phase 3 study to investigate the safety and efficacy of Ultomiris as a treatment for COVID-19. Ultomiris is already approved for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare blood disease that causes red blood cells to break apart and release hemoglobin, the component in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body. This drug has been used on a compassionate basis to treat COVID-19 patients, and the results have, so far, been encouraging, which is why Alexion is launching a formal clinical trial.
This study, which is set to start in May, will enroll about 270 patients in several countries that have been severely impacted by the ongoing outbreak. It will focus on patients with severe manifestations of COVID-19, namely "those who are hospitalized with severe pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome."
Image Source: Getty Images.