Congressman Krishnamoorthi, Porter, Inquire on BARDA and HHS Funding for Clinical Trials in Preventative COVID-19 Immune Globulin (COVID-IG) Injections

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA) wrote to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Acting Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) urging them to allocate more funding for clinical trials of preventative COVID-19 immune globulin (COVID-IG) injections. Public health experts and officials believe these COVID-IG injections could potentially prevent COVID-19 infection in healthy individuals before a vaccine is widely available.

"As cases of the coronavirus skyrocket in parts of the country, identifying all possible prevention and treatment strategies that are available to us is essential," the Members said. "The Administration has developed strong public-private partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to develop a vaccine, but we cannot abandon investments in additional options that may save lives before a vaccine becomes readily available."

Immune globulin injections have been used for many other viral diseases – including influenza, measles, hepatitis B, polio, and Ebola – proving to be safe and effective before a vaccine became readily available. In the case of COVID-19, the scientific community sees a clear possibility for preventative COVID-IG injections to confer some level of immunity or to help improve immune response in individuals not yet infected with COVID-19.

Unfortunately, although the scientific community sees significant merit in exploring this type of treatment, private companies have resisted investing in it. This is because companies don't want to invest in a treatment that may soon be replaced by a vaccine before providing an adequate return on investment. By investing in this treatment at the federal level, BARDA and HHS have an opportunity to incentivize more private investment for a treatment that could save lives before a vaccine becomes available. The Congressmembers wrote to BARDA and HHS urging the allocation of federal funding for these clinical trial programs.

A copy of the letter is available here.