Trial participants will receive ivermectin for three days
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LONDON — The University of Oxford in the UK added Ivermectin to large-scale clinical trials to see the potential of Covid-19 drugs for patients who do not need to be hospitalized. Including patients who are treated at home at risk of experiencing more severe disease.
The trial, called the Platform Randomised Trial of Treatments in the Community for Epidemic and Pandemic Illnesses (PRINCIPLE), tested Ivermectin, a drug commonly used to treat parasitic infections.
In laboratory studies, the drug, which is known to have antiviral properties, can reduce the replication of SARS-CoV-2. In small-scale studies, the use of ivermectin has been shown to reduce the load or number of viruses that enter the body and the duration of symptoms of Covid-19 patients.
Some countries routinely use this drug to treat Covid-19. But few data from large-scale randomized controlled trials are available to validate the effects of these drugs on speeding patient recovery or reducing hospitalization rates.
“Ivermectin is available all over the world, it has been widely used for other infectious conditions, so this is a well-known drug with a safe profile, and because early research shows promising results, several countries have used it extensively to treat Covid-19,” said the Head PRINCIPLE research Chris Butler as quoted Clinical Trials Arena.com, Thursday (24/6).
“By introducing ivermectin into large-scale trials such as PRINCIPLE, we hope to produce strong evidence to determine how effective treatment for COVID-19 is and whether its use is beneficial or detrimental,” he added.
Trial participants will receive ivermectin for three days and follow-up for a further 28 days. The trial will compare it to a drug normally used by the British health system, the NHS.
Individuals aged 18 to 64 who have certain health conditions or shortness of breath due to Covid-19 or who are over the age of 65 can participate in the trial. The trial participants are those who test positive for Covid-19 or experience symptoms for the last 14 days.
However, individuals with severe liver disease who are taking the blood thinner warfarin or other drugs known to react with ivermectin should not participate in this trial. Ivermectin is the seventh drug evaluated by PRINCIPLE.
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