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♪ LOU: THE AMERICAN RED CROSS SAYS
ITS FIRST DONOR OF PLASMA FROM A
RECOVERED VIRUS PATIENT,
CORONAVIRUS PATIENT HELPED SAVE
TWO LIVES.
TWO LIVES. MARISA FROM PENNSYLVANIA DONATED
LAST MONTH, LESS Z THAN TWO
WEEKS AFTER SHE HAD RECOVERED
FROM THE WUHAN VIRUS.
THE PLASMA WENT TO TWO NEW
JERSEY PATIENTS ON VENTILATORS.
HER AUNT AND A 61-YEAR-OLD MAN.
THEIR VITALS STABILIZED WITHIN A
FEW DAYS, THEY WERE BOTH
RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL LAST
WEEK.
WEEK. THE PLASMA THERAPY IS WORKING.
AND ONE OF PLASMA THERAPY’S
GREAT ADVOCATES IS DR. IAN
LIPKIN.
LIPKIN. HE IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER
FOR INFECTION AND IMMUNITY AT
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. HIS RESEARCH ON USING PLASMA
DRAWN FROM RECOVERED PATIENTS
JUST APPROVED FOR CLINICAL
TRIALS BY THE FDA, AND IT’S
WORTH NOTING HE ALSO IS A
RECOVERED WUHAN VIRUS PATIENT.
I GUESS YOU’RE NO LONGER A
PATIENT.
PATIENT. I GUESS YOU’RE A VETERAN OF THIS
PAN DEM CANTIC, IS WHAT IT MAKES
YOU IN SO MANY WAYS.
GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US,
DOCTOR.
DOCTOR. >> LIKEWISE.
>> LIKEWISE. LOU: PLASMA WORKS AND IT’S
HAVING QUITE AN IMPACT.
>> WE THINK IT’S WORKING --
LOU: YOUR THOUGHTS.
>> WE HAVEN’T SEEN ADVERSE
EFFECTS.
EFFECTS. OUR CLINICAL TRIAL IS JUST
GETTING GOING.
GETTING GOING. WE’VE GOT LESS THAN 20 PATIENTS
THUS FAR.
THUS FAR. SO FAR NO PROBLEMS EITHER.
WE HAVEN’T BROKEN THE CODE.
ONCE WE GET OUR NUMBERS, WE
WILL.
WILL. I ANTICIPATE IT’S GOING TO BE
SUCCESSFUL, BUT WE’LL SEE WHAT
THE DATA SHOW.
LOU: AND THESE 2600 PATIENTS
THAT HAVE BEEN TREATED WITH
PLASMA, ESPECIALLY WITH STATES
EASING LOCKDOWN REACTIONS,
THEY’RE SAYING THEY’VE HAD
ABSOLUTELY NO ISSUE WHATSOEVER
WITH IT.
WITH IT. THAT’S NOT THE SAME THING AS A
STAMP OF MEDICAL APPROVAL, BUT
IT IS CERTAINLY A POSITIVE SIGN,
ISN’T IT?
ISN’T IT? >> IT IS A POSITIVE SIGN, IT’S
VERY ENCOURAGING.
VERY ENCOURAGING. I PREDICT IT’S GOING TO BE
SUCCESSFUL, BUT THAT’S NOT THE
SAME THING AS PROVING IT.
SO THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DOING AT
COLUMBIA, AND THAT’S HOW WE’RE
FOCUSED.
FOCUSED. AND I THINK WE’LL IS HAVE THE
ANSWERS IN A FEW WEEKS.
SO AGAIN, THIS WAS FIRST
DESCRIBED ON YOUR SHOW S AND YOU
PROMOTED IT, AND I’M SURE YOU
SHOULD BE PLEASED.
LOU: I’M THRILLED.
ANYTIME --
ANYTIME -- [INAUDIBLE CONVERSATIONS]
[INAUDIBLE CONVERSATIONS] EXCUSE ME, DOCTOR, I JUST WANTED
TO FINISH, IF I MAY.
I DO WANT TO TAKE UP A COUPLE OF
THINGS HERE.
THINGS HERE. AND ONE OF THEM IS THIS, WE’RE
HEARING ALL SORTS OF STORIES
ABOUT FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING ON
THIS, BILLIONAIRES, VERY BRIGHT
SCIENTISTS, NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
AMONG THEM TRYING TO COME UP
WITH IDEAS AND CONSULTING WITH,
IF YOU WILL, COUNSELING THE
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU IF
YOU’RE FAMILIAR WITH THEIR WORK
AND YOUR REACTION TO IT.
>> I AM FAMILIAR WITH THEIR
WORK, VERY, VERY GOOD PEOPLE,
COMPLIMENTARY DISCIPLINES.
COMPLIMENTARY DISCIPLINES. MANY OF THE SAME THINGS THAT
WE’RE THINKING ABOUT.
THERE ARE MANY GROUPS THAT ARE
WORKING ON THIS INDEPENDENTLY.
NEW YORK HAS A TEAM THAT’S
TRYING TO GET THE CITY BACK.
THE STATE, SAME SORT OF ISSUE.
AND I’M WORKING WITH A TEAM NOW
THAT’S TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT
SOMETHING LIKE THIS NEVER
HAPPENS AGAIN.
HAPPENS AGAIN. SO THERE’S A LOT OF --
LOU: I WANT TO -- BRAIN POWER IS
WHAT’S REQUIRED, AND WE’RE GLAD
THAT YOU’RE IN THE FIGHT,
DOCTOR.
DOCTOR. ALSO, TESTING.
ALSO, TESTING. WE KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE
CRITICAL GOING FORWARD.
A NUMBER OF TESTS HAVE BEEN
STARTED, THEY’RE ON THE MARKET.
YOU’RE WORKING ON A NUCLEIC ACID
TEST.
TEST. HOW DOES THAT WORK?
>> SO THERE ARE TWO MAJOR TYPES
OF TESTS.
OF TESTS. ONE OF THEM LOOKS AT -- WE CAN’T
REALLY MEASURE VIRUS, PER SE.
IT REQUIRES BIOCONTAINMENT, IT’S
COMPLICATED, TIME CONSUMING.
SO PEOPLE USE NUCLEIC ACID
TESTS, QUESTION NETTIC MATERIAL
FROM THE VIRUS -- GENETIC
MATERIAL FROM THE VIRUS AS A
SURROGATE.
SURROGATE. THEN THERE ARE THE ANTIBODY
TESTS WHICH HAVE BEEN QUITE
TRIGGERED IN THEIR PERFORMANCE.
SO WE’RE TRYING TO IMPROVE THOSE
THIS TEST, AND HOW SOON DO YOU THINK REASONABLY YOU MIGHT HAVE
IT READY FOR ALL OF US?
>> WELL, WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO
DO, LOU, IS TO FIND A WAY IN
WHICH WE CAN DETECT THE VIRUS
ITSELF.
ITSELF. NOT JUST THE NUCLEIC ACID, NOT
THE ANTIBODIES, BUT THE ACTUAL
VIRUS ITSELF.
VIRUS ITSELF. THE IDEA WOULD BE THAT YOU WOULD
NOT HAVE TO DO ANY OF THE
COMPLICATED PROCEDURES THAT
PEOPLE HAVE THE USE NOW, AND YOU
DO THE WHOLE THING WITH A CELL
PHONE CHIP.
PHONE CHIP. THAT’S WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON,
VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
BECAUSE I THINK IT’S GOING TO
WORK.
WORK. AND THE OTHER THING THAT’S
INTRIGUING IS THAT WE HAVE ALL
THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT OF WORK
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. WE COULD ACTUALLY PUT THEM TO
WORK HELPING THEM DO THE TRACK,
TRACING, EVERYTHING WE NEED TO
DO TO GET AMERICA BACK TO WORK
AGAIN.
AGAIN. SO BY ADDING THE TESTING --
LOU: THAT’S AN INTERESTING IDEA.
>> YEAH, WE COULD GET THINGS
MOVING AGAIN.
MOVING AGAIN. SO JUST AS WE HAVE MAGA, WE’RE
GOING TO HAVE MAKE AMERICA OPEN
AGAIN.
AGAIN. THAT’S SORT OF MY NEXT PROJECT.
[LAUGHTER]
[LAUGHTER] LOU: A NOBLE PROJECT, INDEED.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR SUCCESS
IN DEVELOPING THE TEST.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, AS ALWAYS,
DR. IAN LIPKIN.
WE APPRECIATE IT.
>> ALWAYS A PLEASURE.