Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center opened a COVID-19 research facility Oct. 5.
The standalone center will provide a space for scientists and clinicians to collaborate with study volunteers, healthcare providers, research institutes, foundations and biotech/pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials for COVID-19 patients. In the future, it will be used for research into other infectious diseases.
The center has been built with several measures in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including separate entry/exits and restrooms for study volunteers with known or potential COVID-19 and appropriate personal protective equipment for all staff and participants.
The center will initially embark on two studies — one focused on testing whether remdesivir can reduce symptoms and the need for hospitalization among those with early-stage COVID-19, and another examining REGN-COV2, Regeneron's investigational antibody cocktail, in COVID-19 patients who have not been hospitalized.
"For more than 40 years, Fred Hutch researchers have made fundamental discoveries and breakthroughs relating to viruses and the body's immune response to cancer, HIV and other infections," said Rachel Bender Ignacio, MD, an associate in the vaccine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutch and the medical director of the new center. "Our team of clinical researchers is committed to applying our expertise to determine which therapies are the safest and most effective in treating COVID-19 and saving and improving lives."
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