Microbiologist using live sample of coronavirus to test drugs for treatment
Boston University microbiologist Robert Davey on his research to find treatments for COVID-19.
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A Boston University microbiologist who will begin testing potentially life-saving drugs against a live sample of the coronavirus told "Bill Hemmer Reports" Wednesday that he is "extremely optimistic."
"We will take drugs that are already out there on the market to test them and see if they are effective," Robert Davey said, "and then we're going to test new chemicals to see if they have any ability."
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"'I'm very optimistic we can find something as quickly as possible."
"We're one of the handful of labs around the country that can screen thousands of drugs to find a treatment for this disease," he added.
Davey and his team have already tested various drugs using monkey cells, and hope to begin testing thousands of drugs on human cells as early as this Friday, he explained.
"We learned how to grow the virus, it’s good to get to know your enemy, and we will start testing on human cells ... as soon as this Friday," he said. "We are very hopeful that things will work."
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Asked whether the anti-malarial drugs touted by President Trump would be included in his research, Davey said they are "in the library that we are testing" but hopes to find a more effective cure.
"They are in the library that we are testing but there could be many others out there that could be even better than them," he said, referring to hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin.
"I'm extremely optimistic," he continued. "The fact that we have this facility here at Boston University and we can do things safely and efficiently...I'm very optimistic we can find something as quickly as possible."
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