A unique partnership between the state of South Carolina, homegrown companies and Medical University of South Carolina is developing a drug to battle COVID-19 and possibly other viral infections. The state is investing more than $13 million, and potentially more than $27 million overall, to get the drug off the ground in terms of manufacturing, early clinical trials and research conducted entirely within the Palmetto State. "It really is a unique opportunity to show what South Carolina can do" in terms of drug development and potentially improving the health of the state, said MUSC Chief Innovation Officer Jesse Goodwin.
Dr. Jesse Goodwin, Chief Innovation Officer for Medical University of South Carolina In the Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget, the legislature set aside money not to exceed $27,650,000 for MUSC to develop a drug for COVID-19 in conjunction with other state partners, with the state signing off on each installment. MUSC is looking at a drug that modulates the immune system and can tamp down the response provoked by the body's reaction to damage in the lungs, which worsens it, said Dr.
Charlie Strange, a professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at MUSC who is serving as the principal investigator of the collaboration. Dr. Charlie Strange, professor of medicine at Medical University of South Carolina In the early days of the pandemic, doctors found that many patients were dying not from the damage caused by the virus but by this overwhelming immune system react.
