The University of Rochester Medical Center is starting clinical trials to test whether hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) can help treat patients with COVID-19.
HCQ is an FDA-approved anti-malarial drug that has been considered as a potential treatment to help patients recover from the coronavirus. However, results from research so far have been inconclusive.
The new clinical trials that URMC is participating in will help provide clear and conclusive evidence as-to HCQ’s effectiveness as a COVID-19 treatment.
“Of course, we all hope that it is an effective treatment, but we won’t be able to show that until we do this kind of study,” says study leader Michael Keefer, M.D. professor and interim chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center.