Earlier this week, the NIH announced a phase 2 clinical trial which will evaluate the safety and efficacy of potential new therapeutics for COVID-19, including an investigational therapeutic based on synthetic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to treat the disease.

Researchers sponsored by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH, are working with clinical sites to identify potential patient volunteers currently infected with SARS-CoV-2, who have mild to moderate disease not requiring hospitalization.

They will be invited to take an experimental therapy or a placebo as part of a rigorously designed randomized clinical trial. The trial, which is known as ACTIV-2, also may investigate other experimental therapeutics later under the same trial protocol.

The United States have been stepping up research on vaccines, drugs and therapies for COVID-19 as confirmed cases hit over 4,870,000 and fatalities surpassed 159,800 as of Thursday evening, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

An experimental COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the NIAID and American biotechnology company Moderna, known as mRNA-1273, started phase 3 clinical trial last week to evaluate if it can prevent COVID-19 in adults.

The trial, which will be conducted at US clinical research sites, is expected to enroll approximately 30,000 adult volunteers who do not have COVID-19.

"Investigating a variety of different therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies, will help ensure that we advance towards an effective treatment for people suffering from COVID-19 disease as quickly as possible," said NIAID Director Anthony Fauci.