Board Converting News, April 13, 2020

Anthony Pratt Donates $1M To Fund COVID-19 Drug Trial

According to a report in The Australian , Australia’s richest man and the billionaire chairman of packaging companies Visy Industries and Pratt Industries, Anthony Pratt, has

donated $1 million to fund the trial of two drugs that may help patients suffering from COVID-19. The drugs, used in the treatment of HIV and arthritis, will be trialled by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infec- tion and Immunity at the University of Melbourne

Pratt also issued ‘a call to arms’ to Australia’s wealthiest to join the fight against COVID-19. “Bushfires unfortunately happen every year, but this is a one-in-100-year event, so this is a call to arms for people to contribute more now,” he said. “We are hoping for a silver-bullet solution. We need to do something, and preferably something within 60 days.” Doherty Institute Director Sharon Lewin said the trial involves the HIV drug Kaletra and arthritis drug Hydroxy- chloroquine. It involves giving patients, who are in hospital but not in the ICU, the two drugs and monitoring their con- dition with those who were not given drugs. The 60-day trial would take place in 60 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand, involving 2,440 people at a cost of $6.7 million. Anthony Pratt

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April 13, 2020

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