Paris (AFP)
A clinical trial consisting in transfusing blood plasma from people recovered from Covid-19 to "patients in acute phase of the disease" will start on April 7 in France, the establishments responsible for conducting it announced on Saturday.
"This clinical trial consists of the transfusion of plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients, containing antibodies against the virus, and which could transfer this immunity to a patient suffering from Covid-19", according to a joint press release from Assistance Public-Paris Hospitals (AP-HP), the French Blood Establishment (EFS) and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).
"The plasma of people who have recovered from Covid-19 contains these antibodies that their bodies have developed. These antibodies could help patients in the acute phase of the disease to fight the virus," they hope.
This clinical trial, called Coviplasm, will be conducted by Professor Karine Lacombe and Professor Pierre Tiberghien.
Targeted samples will be taken from Tuesday in Ile-de-France, in the Grand-Est and in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté from around 200 patients who have been cured for at least 14 days.
"Cured patients of Covid-19 will be invited personally to donate their plasma to the EFS," the statement said.
The clinical trial will count 60 patients in Parisian hospitals, of which "half will benefit from the plasma-convalescent supply".
"An initial evaluation may be made two to three weeks after the start of the clinical trial", which may be extended depending on the results.
The EFS will also seek the presence of antibodies against the coronavirus "in a representative sample of blood donors coming to donate during a specific period", to "obtain an image of the spread of the virus in France".
Convalescent plasma, the liquid part of the blood that concentrates antibodies after illness, has already proven to be effective in small-scale studies against other infectious diseases like Ebola or Sras.
The US drug agency, the Food and Drug Administration, has given the green light to test such treatments against coronavirus. Tests are also being carried out in China.
© 2020 AFP