ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. –In this pandemic, medical professionals around the world are looking for answers, whether in the form of a vaccine or, in this case, a drug treatment. A clinical trial to test a drug used on different strands of the coronavirus and on patients who had the Ebola virus has started at UCI Health and about 20 other hospital across the country.

The goal is to see what the drug’s impact could be on patients infected with coronavirus. 

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As the number of cases continues to grow in the U.S., efforts in medical research also continue to expand, including at UCI Health. The hospital is the latest site where a clinical trial has started to test out a drug treatment. 

Dr. Alpesh Amin is the lead researcher at UCI Health. He is also the chair of the Department of Medicine, UCI School of Medicine, and executive director, UCI Health Hospitalist Program.

He says, “It’s really an honor to be able to fulfill all of our missions, which is to discover, teach, and heal.”

UCI Health is one of about 20 sites taking part in the clinical trial across the country. It is one of three sites in California. The other sites in the state include UC San Diego and UC Davis. 

The clinical trial is also going on in South Korea. Each hospital will be treating some COVID-19 patients with a drug called remdesivir. Dr. Amin says it’s an antiviral drug that was previously tested on patients with the Ebola virus and other coronavirus strains, including  Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Dr. Amin says, “It’s in a class of drugs we call nucleotide analog. This antiviral activity attacks the genetic code of the virus, and helps kill it.”

He says the anti-viral drug is on a “seek and destroy” mission. 

At least one patient at UCI Health is taking part in the trial. That person got their first 200mg via an IV infusion on Friday, March 20. That person will get 100 mg daily, for up to 10 days. Because this is an adaptive randomized double blinded clinical trial, Dr. Amin says, “The investigators don’t know which patients are in the treatment arm vs. the placebo arm.”

The clinical trial will not be available to every COVID-19 patient. The National Institute of Health sponsored clinical trial requires patients to show some evidence of severe lung issues due to the virus. That could include, but not limited to, rattling sounds when breathing with a need for supplemental oxygen or abnormal chest x-rays. 

“We are one of the lucky ones to offer that to the community and this is a wonderful thing,” said Dr. Amin.

After 100 patients are enrolled in the nationwide clinical trial, researchers like Dr. Amin will begin to look at the results.

“I am very hopeful that if the data shows that this drug actually works, I think the FDA will move very, very quickly,” he said.

Dr. Amin says it’s just a matter of time, and work, work that he says he’s humbled and happy to be a part of. 

“We got a lot of passion for the fight,” Dr. Amin said.

A fight Dr. Amin says he’s confident we will win – if we do it together. He says he’s counting on the public to be as dedicated to washing hands and social distancing as he is to help find a treatment. 

More information on the clinical trial can be found here.

For the latest updates go to: coronavirus.gov