CLEVELAND — From the beginning, the brightest brains in the world have been working non-stop finding ways to control COVID.
Here in Cleveland, University Hospitals Harrington Discovery Institute is getting promising treatments out of the lab and to the pharmaceutical companies for testing and manufacturing.
So if you thought science was lagging, think again.
"We had almost 300 really breakthrough therapies and clinical-ready medicines that could really make a tremendous difference in this pandemic," reports Dr. Jonathan Stamler, president of UH's Harrington Discovery Institute.
In six months, unprecedented hope.
"I would tell you that we have 50 medicines that in my view could change the world," Dr. Stamler reports.
Treatments for now and later.
"This virus is mutating, it's changing and we need to be ready for what's coming down the pike and we need medicine for patients in the units who are currently very, very sick and have really no medical care," Dr. Stamler adds.
Some of those medicines and treatments are already FDA approved, others pending, and nearly all available to test in people.
"What we have received here includes a set of breakthrough medicines that we can ready for patients and multiple medicines that can go into clinical trials almost immediately," says Dr. Stamler.
Medicines similar to what Tamiflu does for influenza that could inhibit and kill the virus. Others that can help those on ventilators. In fact, Dr. Stamler says they have a drug that can avert and treat the lung and heart complications of the virus.
Imagine this scenario that Dr. Stamler lays out. "Come in with a fever and COVID positive, you get the medicine and our hope is you simply don't get sick, that would transform care of this disease. We have second generation vaccines that we think are more powerful than the first generation. And we have very powerful antibodies across every type of mutation of this virus and we even have great ideas like vaccines that can treat flu and COVID at the same time."
The holdup? Cash. They don't get federal funding.
HDI connects the discoveries from academic institutions to the pharmaceutical companies that can get the testing and manufacturing done. So they're reaching out with some star power (including our own Mike Polk Jr.) hoping the public will help raise millions of dollars needed.
"We're focused on solving the problem we're trying to solve this pandemic and find treatments for patients in university hospitals and around the world and averting future pandemics," says Dr. Stamler.
You can learn more and donate by clicking here.
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