Exclusive: Dialysis clinics provide new path for delivery of stockpiled COVID-19 antibody drugs in U.S.
FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers treat patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., December 28, 2020. REUTERS/Callaghan O Hare/File Photo reuters tickers
This content was published on December 30, 2020 - 15:38
December 30, 2020 - 15:38
By Deena Beasley
(Reuters) - Dialysis centers in the United States are rolling out COVID-19 antibody treatments this week, a new path for delivery of Eli Lilly and Regeneron drugs approved for emergency use but facing skepticism and logistical problems in some hospitals.
Supplies of the drugs are piling up as hospitals grapple with overflowing wards and mass vaccinations. Kidney dialysis patients are among those most at risk from COVID-19, which is especially deadly among people with chronic illnesses.
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Dialysis centers in the United States are rolling out COVID-19 antibody treatments this week, a new path for delivery of Eli Lilly and Regeneron drugs approved for emergency use but facing skepticism and logistical problems in some hospitals.
Supplies of the drugs are piling up as hospitals grapple with overflowing wards and mass vaccinations. Kidney dialysis patients are among those most at risk from COVID-19, which is especially deadly among people with chronic illnesses.
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PLANO, Texas, Dec. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ U.S. Renal Care (USRC), a leading provider of dialysis services caring for more than 26,000 individuals living with kidney disease, announced it will obtain and distribute the monoclonal antibody therapy, Bamlanivimab, to its patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19. USRC obtained the therapy from Operation Warp Speed, Project SPEED, and will administer the drug to medically stable COVID-19 positive patients with mild to moderate disease in their outpatient dialysis facilities. USRC is among the first national dialysis organizations to offer this therapy. Our internal data is consistent with data from CMS that demonstrates extraordinarily high rates of hospitalization for Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage kidney disease who contract COVID-19, said Mary Dittrich, MD, FASN, Chief Medical Officer, USRC. Having the ability to administer monoclonal antibody therapy to high-risk, COVID-19 positive