US scientists are undertaking a clinical trial to decode the efficacy of a long-acting antibody against Long Covid — a condition that affects at least 65 million people worldwide.
Long Covid affects people after an infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The condition not properly defined yet presents with more than 200 symptoms.
The team from the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and the Schmidt Initiative for Long Covid (SILC) announced that a clinical trial is underway to assess the effectiveness and safety of sipavibart — a long-acting monoclonal antibody designed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca’s to protect the condition.
The team enrolled 100 patients in the multi-year research, reviewed and cleared by the FDA earlier this year. It aims to improve patients Long Covid symptoms and restore them to full health.
“Like many multi-symptom, post-viral conditions, Long Covid is incredibly complicated and thus little understood,” said Nancy Klimas, director of the Institute for Neuro-lmmune Medicine at NSU. “Finding a treatment will be life-changing for patients suffering from the myriad symptoms of Long Covid,” she added.
The study will test whether the monoclonal antibody sipavibart — approved for the pre-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) of Covid-19 in Japan and the EU — is effective in treating Long Covid. The trial is one of three Long Covid treatment trials expected to begin in 2025.
“Long Covid affects at least 65 million people worldwide, and with more than 200 symptoms, the health impacts of the disease can be debilitating,” said Dr. John Redd, CEO of SILC.
“This trial represents our overall commitment to addressing the most pressing health challenges of our time. We’re leveraging our research expertise to potentially transform treatment options for millions suffering from Long Covid, advance knowledge, and improve patient outcomes through innovative clinical research,” added Dr. Ken Dawson-Scully, NSU’s senior vice president for research and associate provost.
Long COVID or long-haul COVID is a group of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID-19 infection. Symptoms can last weeks, months or years and are often debilitating. The World Health Organization defines long COVID as starting three months after the initial COVID-19 infection, but other agencies define it as starting at four weeks after the initial infection.
Long COVID is characterised by a large number of symptoms that sometimes disappear and then reappear. Commonly reported symptoms of long COVID are fatigue, memory problems, shortness of breath, and sleep disorder.
Several other symptoms, including headaches, mental health issues, initial loss of smell or taste, muscle weakness, fever, and cognitive dysfunction may also present.Symptoms often get worse after mental or physical effort, a process called post-exertional malaise. There is a large overlap in symptoms with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
The causes of long COVID are not yet fully understood. Hypotheses include lasting damage to organs and blood vessels, problems with blood clotting, neurological dysfunction, persistent virus or a reactivation of latent viruses and autoimmunity. (Agencies)
