<Clinical Trials and Coronavirus

Check out the latest news on coronavirus clinical trials.

In a true show of European solidarity in the fight against COVID-19, a French coordinated pan-European clinical trial began this week.

Called 'Discovery', the trial is led by Dr. Florence Ader, an infectious disease specialist in the Infectious and Tropical Diseases Department of Croix-Rousse Hospital in Lyon. The WHO announced a global clinical trial last week - 'Solidarity', which will focus on a select number of medicines in fighting COVID-19: remdesivir, lopinavir and ritonavir, and chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.

Discovery is a complimentary add-on clinical trial to Solidarity conducted at the European level and coordinated by INSERM, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. While the French aspect of the study will be funded by the Ministries of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the European parts are funded by the public-private partnerships COMBACTE, PREPARE, and the EU-funded project RECOVER.

In France, some 800 patients will take part in the Discovery trial, while 3200 patients in total will be recruited from across Spain, Germany, the Benelux, and the United Kingdom – not even Brexit can stand in the way of European solidarity in the current climate.

Guidance on conducting clinical trials was released last week offering advice on how to deal with extraordinary situations which the coronavirus pandemic presents, as well as specific advice on trials for COVID-19 treatments. The guidance is available here.

EuropaBio and our members remain committed to aiding the fight against COVID-19. Only by working together will we succeed.

Sources:
• https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/who-launches-global-megatrial-four-most-promising-coronavirus-treatments
• https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/clinical-trial-starts-in-france-for-treating-covid-19/1775935
• https://presse.inserm.fr/lancement-dun-essai-clinique-europeen-contre-le-covid-19/38737/
• https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/ema-offers-guidance-on-conducting-trials-during-th