AstraZeneca will start a clinical trial to see if its cancer drug Calquence can suppress the excessive immune response COVID-19 triggers in some patients, the drugmaker said April 14.
Calquence is designed to treat lymphoma but may reduce the inflammation caused by the coronavirus, which can trigger an extreme immune reaction called a cytokine storm that can be fatal.
The drug will be tested on hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a large randomized trial, with the first participants being recruited from the U.S. and Europe.
The drugmaker is hoping the drug could reduce the number of patients needed to be put on ventilators.
Read the full news release here.