By Joshua Burd
A longtime New Jersey developer is helping to recruit volunteers for a clinical trial at Rutgers University that is aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
According to George Vallone, a co-founder of the Hoboken Brownstone Company, Rutgers and RWJ Barnabas Health are looking for 100 individuals who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 but have not yet received treatment. The university is seeking the volunteers to participate in a randomized clinical research study to examine hydroxychloroquine, the FDA-approved drug for treatment of malaria and autoimmune diseases, and the antibiotic azithromycin.
The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and University Hospital in Newark are conducting the study. The purpose is to determine if the combined drugs work better than hydroxychloroquine alone when treating COVID-positive patients.
Vallone has been involved with Rutgers for several decades, both as an adjunct professor teaching real estate finance to MBA students and an advisory board member for the graduate finance program. He has also been a frequent guest lecturer at Rutgers Business School and The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
Patients, who must be 18 or older, may receive study treatment for 10 days and will remain on the study for a follow-up of six months.
Interested individuals should contact Eileen Rios-Abdallah, a clinical trials specialist with the cancer institute, at 732-235-5014 or at riosei@rutgers.edu.
