Coronavirus: San Francisco doctor featured in Netflix's 'Pandemic' claims possible COVID-19 treatment

SAN FRANCISCO -- There's new hope as scientists around the world collaborate and focus their efforts on finding a treatment for COVID-19. A San Francisco doctor thinks he has found a cure for the novel coronavirus. His story was featured Friday on Good Morning America.

Dr. Jacob Glanville, from the Netflix docuseries "Pandemic," said he is working on a possible treatment with antibodies used to treat SARS, that could one day be used to help cure coronavirus patients.

"Our challenge is, right now, it's a race against time to be able to manufacture them quickly enough and distribute them out to people who need them all over the world," said Dr. Glanville during a report with ABC's T. J. Holmes.

Glanville, CEO of Distributed Bio, says the next step is for the military to confirm his findings and test the antibodies on live coronavirus, then accelerate human trials this summer. If all goes according to plan, he says, a possible treatment could be ready by September.

"I think they're at least 50 groups that are all working on this. And that's good," said Dr. Glanville. "There's only one competitor in the space and that's the virus."

While biomedical research and vaccine trials are underway, other possible treatments are already being tested across the United States.

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"We have a vaccine that's on track and multiple other candidates," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "So I would anticipate that, you know, a year to a year-and-a-half, will be able to do it under an emergency use."

Some experts believe a vaccine could take longer.

This week, the first patients began receiving "convalescent plasma" transfusions...blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients, which contains antibodies that doctors hope might help those who are still sick.

Jason Garcia, 36, tested positive for COVID-19 in March, and has since recovered. He donated his blood plasma to treat another patient now in the ICU.

"I'm kind of hopeful that the story gets out there and more people start contacting hospitals and be like, yeah, I've been symptom free for a while now, and I can donate my plasma and help others," said Garcia.

If the potential therapy works, plasma from recovered individuals could be in high demand, and several NBA players who had novel coronavirus are volunteering for the program.