Another day, another clinical trial to try to conquer COVID-19. And this one covers a lot of ground. According to the National Institutes of Health, a phase 3 clinical trial looking at combining the antiviral remdesivir with anti-coronavirus hyperimmune intravenous immunoglobulin will take place in 59 sites across 18 countries, including the United States.

Remdisivir is an investigational antiviral drug that has been tested for treatment of hepatitis, Ebola, and SARS, among other viruses.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is sponsoring and funding the trial, called Inpatient Treatment with Anti-Coronavirus Immunoglobulin, or ITAC.

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The theory behind the treatment, according to the NIH, is that if people infected with COVID-19 receive the immunoglobulin early on in the illness, as symptoms begin, they may produce their own antibodies to the virus and fight it off, avoiding serious complications.

“Finding safe and effective treatments for COVID-19 is absolutely critical,” NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD, said in the release. “The ITAC trial will examine whether adding anti-coronavirus hIVIG to a remdesivir regimen can give the immune system a needed boost to suppress SARS-CoV-2 early in the course of illness, nipping the infection in the bud.”

The study

The study will take place in sites in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

Researchers hope to enroll 500 adult patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 and had symptoms for 12 days or fewer. They also must not have any other serious illness, like organ failure or dysfunction.

The study participants will be monitored for their reaction to the treatments, including side effects and how long it takes for their symptoms to go away. The researchers will continue to follow the participants for 28 days.

For more information about the ITAC trial, visit ClinicalTrials.gov and look for study identifier NCT04546581.