Five new drugs will be tested in 30 hospitals across the country in the race for treatment for Covid-19, he said.
Just days after global trials of hydroxychloroquine, the drug promoted by Donald Trump as a cure, stop, British scientists are looking to enroll hundreds of patients for drug trials that they hope will keep people from getting sick enough to need intensive care or ventilators.
They range from drugs such as heparin, which is used to thin the blood, to therapies still in clinical trial for conditions such as muscle, lung, and blood disorders,who have evidence of potent antiviral or anti-inflammatory properties.
The studies are part of the Accord program (accelerated research and development of Covid-19) involving doctors and scientists, industry, the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation.
“We are looking for a signal that is both safe and effective, something that could reduce the severity of the disease, shorten its duration, and prevent patients from entering an intensive care environment,” said Tom Wilkinson, professor and consultant in respiratory medicine, who is the Accord University Leader, NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Center.
So far, only a handful of patients have enrolled in the trial and with the number of coronavirus patients on the decline, researchers want to quickly enroll as many as possible, said Wilkinson.
“These are small studies, deliverable quickly if we receive patients, so we are only looking to reach around 60 patients for each arm of the trial to receive one of the drugs compared to usual care,” he said. -he adds.
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Hospitals, including St Thomas’ – where Boris Johnson was treated – and Guy’s in London, and major hospitals in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Leicester and Glasgow also participate, as does Southend and other coastal hospitals where Fears of new clusters have emerged after overcrowded beach scenes last weekend.
The five drugs, which can be released for the first time, are:
The drugs were chosen from a list of 200 potential candidates and if they do not work for Covid-19, another batch will then be considered for testing.
If the trials are successful, they will feed into the national later phase research program led by the University of Oxford.
While reducing Covid-19 infection is everyone’s goal, the decline in the number of patients poses a problem for scientists looking for treatments and vaccines.
“This is why it is important to involve every possible patient in a trial and it is an important message. If a patient is eligible for any of the studies, whether Accord studies or vaccines or other drug trials, they should be offered the opportunity to participate, as we know they bring a very valuable contribution to their own health and also to public health, “said Wilkinson.
Sixty patients per drug will need to be evaluated over the next few months, and Wilkinson said that if necessary, researchers would seek to work with other countries and possibly coronavirus patients who are not sent to hospital but have strong symptoms.
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