North Texas Baylor Study To Investigate New COVID-19 Therapy

With vaccination rates slowing across the country, the eyes of medical experts and the science community are turning to North Texas, as an experimental treatment goes into clinical trials here.

Tests led by North Texas' Baylor University Medical Center physicians will ascertain the effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody therapy developed by AbCellera Biologics of Vancouver and Eli Lilly.

Experts are especially optimistic about the trial because of early lab results which show the therapy has effectively neutralized every known COVID-19 variant — including those identified from Brazil, South Africa and the U.K. globally to those found in New York and California.

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That's remarkable, considering how ineffective early treatments were just a year ago. LY-CoV1404, as its currently known, may also be so potent that it can be administered in a smaller dose via injection rather than requiring an infusion via IV.

According to Carl Hansen, AbCallera's CEO, the compound has even neutralized India's double-mutant strain in laboratory tests. Every known variant of the coronavirus has already appeared in Texas, the most recent of which is the Brazilian P.1 variant, which was found last week in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Baylor's trial will include patients who've been diagnosed with COVID-19 ranging in age from 18 to 64. Individuals at higher risk, those 65 or older could be eligible for the next phase of the study which will juxtapose single antibody treatment against the cocktail of three, which will include Y-CoV1404.

The pool of participants is still being assembled, so applicants can apply for a slot by emailing pyah@bswhealth.org.

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