On August 23, 2020, the US-FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”) allowing the off-label use of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19, having concluded that the totality of evidence supported this use. An EUA allows for use of an unapproved therapeutic product by clinicians when needed during public health emergencies. The FDA granted the EUA based […]
Scientists began to investigate Tocilizumab in clinical trials as a possible therapy for COVID-19 because of the drug’s potent anti-inflammatory properties. Tocilizumab, a monoclonal antibody drug manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche, is marketed in the US as Actrema® and is approved for treating arthritis. Tocilizumab effectively treats arthritis by reducing the progression of inflammation in the […]
Vaccination against COVID-19 aims to produce an initial immune response to enable the body to quickly respond to attack and destroy SARS-CoV-2 whenever the vaccinated individual is later infected with the virus. All vaccines aim to expose the body to an agent, called an antigen, to provoke an initial immune response. In the initial immune […]
CORTICOSTEROID HORMONES AND COVID-19 Introduction. The corticosteroid hormone drugs Dexamethasone and Methylprednisolone have both been successfully used to treat COVID-19 patients. Dexamethasone, approved by the FDA in 1958, is marketed for treating severe or incapacitating allergic conditions. Methylprednisolone, approved by the FDA in 1959, is marketed for treating severe allergic conditions and some types of […]
