LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas company is increasing production of a product that's needed to effectively test possible treatments for COVID-19.
13 HELPS: List of resources for Nevadans during coronavirus pandemic
Desiccare is trying to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to desiccants.
“Those little packs in your pill bottles that say do not eat, a lot of times, that’s us,” says Ben Blankenhorn, Desiccare.
Desiccare manufactures things that enhance the shelf life of food and pharmaceuticals.
Desiccants maintain moisture to keep medicine safe, and it could possibly keep a coronavirus cure effective.
RELATED: FDA says drug not yet available for COVID-19 treatment despite Trump claims
“If there is a medicine in the future that works, we would have a supply ready to go,” says Blankenhorn.
The company is making desiccants available to help package drugs to pharmaceutical companies that are trying to study the effects of various drugs on COVID-19 patients.
Those drugs include chloroquine and hydroxycholorquine, which are anti-malaria drugs.
“The last thing we want to have happen is a worldwide desiccant shortage, preventing the distribution of the medication,” says Blankenhorn.
RELATED: Nevada Pharmacy Board joins Gov. Sisolak to stop COVID-19 'drug hoarding'
The products in Desiccare’s warehouse have a shelf life, but the company is prepared to go to a larger scale, if they need to.
“This is a small piece to the puzzle that we play, and it’s the one thing we can do to try and help,” says Blankenhorn.
STAY UP TO DATE: Continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic