Several studies are of the opinion that the plasma obtained from COVID-19 survivors may pose some streaks of success in combatting the deadly virus, cure for which is still far from reality. According to several researches, the technique of using plasma from disease survivors is actually an age old practice and has been used successfully incorporated in treating conditions of measles and influenza.
FDA has recently signaled towards carrying out the study by Columbia University with substantial financial investments by Amazon.
In a recent turn of events towards a catastrophic economic condition and a fast deteriorating health conditions worldwide, key businesses such as Amazon is pioneering effective therapeutic developments such as plasma therapy for addressing the global pandemic. The company is touted to have lent over $2.5 million in a high end R&D initiative to effectively evaluate and assess the capabilities of plasma therapy in addressing the issue.
Amazon's funding initiatives further expand with substantial funding from Amazon Web Services which has lent around $20 million to further leverage effective diagnostic and therapeutic initiatives. This Columbia University initiative is a highly potential research program and the idea is to inject the convalescent plasma or in the form of placebo to critically ill patients, other relevant persons who remain in close proximity of such patients and observe the effects and over a recorded time frame.
The initial trials are to be carried out under the guidance of Dr. Ian Lipkin who heads the Columbia Mailman School. The initiative is to be also scrutinized by officials of Center or Infection and Immunity. This disease management approach is an age-old medical practice. However, it is crucial to know that though the preliminary attempts is gaining prominence, similar plasma therapy initiatives have been reported.