Science Magazine, which is making its COVID-19 stories available to the general public, reports that a clinical trial has begun in New York to look at a possible treatment for COVID-19 in famotidine, the active compound in the over-the-counter heartburn drug Pepcid.

The trial is underway at Northwell Health in New York City, with patients receiving famotidine intravenously, at nine times the heartburn dose.   It began quietly, for a reason: “If we talked about this to the wrong people or too soon, the drug supply would be gone,” says Kevin Tracey, a former neurosurgeon in charge of the hospital system’s research.

As of Saturday, 187 COVID-19 patients in critical status, including many on ventilators, have been enrolled in the trial, which aims for a total of 1174 people.

Click here for the complete Science Magazine story.