An international trial testing convalescent blood plasma on COVID-19 patients with moderate and severe illness has halted enrolment of severely ill COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care after it found no benefit.

The decision by the REMAP-CAP trial leaders came after an initial analysis of more than 900 severely ill trial participants in intensive care showed that treatment with the product – an antibody-rich plasma taken from people who have recovered from the pandemic disease – did not improve outcomes.

The underlying hypothesis for using convalescent plasma as a potential treatment for COVID-19 patients is that the antibodies it contains could neutralize the virus, stopping it from replicating and halting tissue damage.

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