WVU Medicine receives FDA Investigational Drug Approval for COVID-19 immunotherapy

WVU Medicine pediatric and adult allergist and immunologist Brian Peppers, D.O., Ph.D., has received Investigational New Drug approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the experimental treatment of COVID-19 using convalescent donor plasma. This is the first FDA approved Investigational New Drug trial for COVID-19 immunotherapy to include pediatric patients.

The protocol, titled “Convalescent plasma collection from individuals that recovered from COVID-19 and treatment of critically ill individuals with donor convalescent plasma,” will use convalescent donor plasma to deliver COVID-19 antibodies to patients currently fighting the disease. Convalescent donor plasma is collected from someone who has been infected by COVID-19 and has recovered from the infection. The plasma contains antibodies which identify the virus and stimulate the immune system to remove it.

This technique is the basis for immunotherapy, using the body’s own immune system to fight an illness. Convalescent plasma has been used to promote heath and healing in those suffering from Ebola, MERS, H1N1, and bird influenza. This therapy has been used successfully for nearly 100 years and offers an approach to treatment while vaccines and other forms of treatments are developed.

The long-term goal of the study is to develop an enriched and purified antibody medication. Antibody therapies, such as immunoglobulin G (IgG), already exist for other infections such as hepatitis B and varicella.

Read the full story from West Virginia University Medicine here.