today south san francisco based genentech announced the beginning of clinical trials. >> they're for an arthritis drug for patients with advanced pneumonia caused by covid-19. david louie is live with the story. david? >> and the kristen, what genentech is doing is one example of the race to find existing drugs to treat covid-19. at ucsf scientists are sharing with others about which human cells and proteins the coronavirus targets. never have the stakes been higher. researchers and labs at ucsf's mission bay campus have been working around the clock to identify which human cells covid-19 invades and hijacks in order to survive and spread. it's estimated there are 30 trillion cells in the human body. the process is to pinpoint proteins that succumb to covid-19. by that they'll identify existing drugs that can interrupt that process. >> we sent out i think ten drugs so far, and they're testing them in the lab as we speak. >> this is the director of the qualitative biosciences institute. while his lab doesn't have examples of the coronavirus, his results are being shared with labs in n

i'm grateful to be part of the team at genentech.rand name of the drug has a generic and it currently is indicated to treat a series of illnesses. for example, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory illness and it's never been approved to treat infectious disease. it may work against pneumonia but it appears that it might not be caused by the virus, itself, but rather, by the immune or inflammatory response to the virus, which can be accepted in some patients. it was designed to suppress that kind of inflammation and in china, there were investigators who tested it against pneumonia caused by covid-19 and based on encouraging results, the study will be conducted at 65 sites around the world including many sites in the u.s. and the goal is to enroll 330 patients. we plan to get it started as soon as possible, early acre april. >>> a silicon valley company gets creative with protective face gear by making coronavirus face shields using 3d printer technology. don ford has the story from san jose. >> reporter: innovation is part of the fabri

>> we had a remarkable conversation just yesterday with the ceo of genentech, ceo of gilead. there is numbering those two up, not only home-based companies, but they are very top of mind as it relates to what president trump and vice president pence as well as other representative in the federal government and task force have been referring to, some of these treatments. we are, in the state of calvary, in deep partnership with those companies. the uc system and their hospitals have been referenced publicly. we are already deeply advancing those protocols and partnerships. i was on the phone to ask what more they need to send california. what do they need from our research institutions and the like. i am very comfortable and confident that those are proceeding. i don't want to get ahead of myself and get into some of the details, where they think we are, as being discussed more properly from a national perspective. i know california is trying to amplify that research, amplify the focus on treatment, and really look to see, once the ostream is become available, that there may -

. >> reporter: san francisco biotech giant genentech also talking progress and partnerships. >> so manyompanies are jumping into figure out, hey, might we have a medicine that works? do we have a vaccine that might work? >> reporter: announcing a phase three trial with the fda to see if one of its existing medicines can be used to fight the virus. >> we are starting a clinical trial with one of our medicines called actimera, to see if it might work against the coronavirus pneumonia. >> i'm certainly optimistic. we're moving in the right direction. >> reporter: klaus gustafson, says their lab is busier than ever and has been working with other local labs. >> looking where we were, at least the progress i've seen, at any given time, 20, 30 different projects, we certainly see that many have come a long, long way because of the amount of resources that are being pushed into making this happen. >> reporter: many companies working as fast as they can to try to find at least one cure. scott budman, nbc bay area news. >>> one drug that came up in the president's news conference is called chlor

i'll six inhibitors made from companies like regeneron as well as genentech. yours antibodies body produces antibodies for those that have been infected but recover. companies are looking at that approach that would either be plasma-based or could be developed into new medicines. of course, they are working on a safe and effective vaccine. there are a number of companies pursuing a vaccine. we need as many shots to get a successful candidate. vonnie: let me ask you about the antibody research. it is really only as the coronavirus spreads throughout the world that we are getting more and more information on it. i was speaking to the investor the other day and he was talking about a company in new york state, a subsidiary of a company that is developing an antibody test. . is it realistic to anticipate that we might see antibody testing for everybody in the country, or anybody who might want to go back to work? stephen: i think eventually, we will. essentially to get the community, we will have to have two large groups. one where we know they are immune through

today south san francisco based genentech started clinical trials for an arthritis drug. research is underway at the mission bay campus. abc7 news reporter david louie is live working from home with details of the efforts. david. >> reporter: hi, ama. at u. csf, scientists are sharing with other researchers critical information about which human cells and which proteins the coronavirus targets. never have the stakes been higher. researchers and labs at ucs f's mission bay campus have been working around the clock to identify which human cells covid-19 invades and hijacks in order to survive and to spread. it is estimated there are 30 trillion cells in the human body. the focus is to pinpoint human proteins that succumb to covid-19. by mapping that researchers will try to identify existing drugs that have the potential to interrupt that process. >> we as of last week sent out a number of drugs, i think ten drugs so far, and they're testing them in the lab as we speak. >> reporter: he is director of qualitative biosciences institute. while his lab doesn't have samples of th

bay area based genentech confirmed the news saying it's working with the fda to see if one of its existing medicines could possibly be used against the virus. >> we are starting a clinical trial with one of our medicines called actimra to see if it might work against the coronavirus pneumonia. >> that would be very good news. one drug that came up during the presidential news conference earlier is called chloracream. we reached out to stanford today. they say they were not part of a study involved with that drug and denied the report or any link to that researcher. mental health experts are trying to help as many people as they can. we have learned a clinic in san francisco has shut down because some workers tested positive. investigative reporter jaxon van derbeken has the story that you'll see only on nbc bay area. >> reporter: this is the family family center on ocean avenue and ingleside. on the door it's closed due to unforeseen circumstances, but sources with knowledge tell us a therapist and two staff members tested positive for covid-19. so some other staff is under quarantine. and