The UMC Utrecht is working on a possible medicine against corona. On July 5, the hospital will start a clinical ‘phase 2’ study into a new drug candidate in adults with corona infection. The drug should accelerate the recovery from corona and prevent the need for (urgent) hospital care.
The study is part of an international study. The safety and effectiveness of the drug ensovibep are being examined. It was developed with the aim of stopping the spread of a COVID-19 infection in the body. The study should show whether the use of the drug accelerates recovery and prevents the need for hospital or emergency care.
Prevent withdrawals
The research leader in the Netherlands is Prof. Marc Bonten, medical microbiologist at UMC Utrecht: “Fortunately, the number of infections is declining sharply. At the same time, we cannot say that corona is completely out of our lives. If ensovibep does indeed work, we could prevent aggravation of disease and hospitalizations. Then, in addition to vaccines, we also have a treatment for people in the early stage of infection.”
Ensovibep is a protein designed to block SARS-CoV-2 from attaching to certain cells in the body. Ensovibep was given to healthy people in a previous study. Now people aged 18 and over are being sought for the study.
More information about the research
In total, the university hospital is looking for 100 volunteers for this phase 2 study in the Netherlands, followed by research in phase 3 with 70 volunteers. For more information or to register, please visit www.vaccinatiestudie.nl/onderzoeken/empathy.