NIH clinical trial of remdesivir to treat COVID-19 begins

NIH clinical trial of remdesivir to treat COVID-19 begins

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past national President IMA

A randomized, controlled NIH supported clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the investigational antiviral remdesivir in hospitalized adults diagnosed with COVID-19 has begun at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

The first trial participant is an American who was repatriated after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked in Yokohama, Japan and volunteered to participate in the study.

Remdesivir, developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., is an investigational broad-spectrum antiviral treatment. It was previously tested in humans with Ebola virus disease and has shown promise in animal models for treating MERS and SARS, which are caused by other coronaviruses.

Clinical trials of remdesivir are also ongoing in China.

Participants in the NIH-sponsored trial must have laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and evidence of lung involvement, including rattling sounds when breathing (rales) with a need for supplemental oxygen or abnormal chest X-rays, or illness requiring mechanical ventilation.

Individuals with confirmed infection who have mild, cold-like symptoms or no apparent symptoms will not be included in the study.

In accordance with standard clinical research protocols, eligible patients will provide informed consent to participate in the trial.

All potential participants will undergo a baseline physical exam before receiving treatment. Eligible study participants will then be randomly assigned either to the investigational treatment group or the placebo group.

The study is double-blind, meaning trial investigators and participants would not know who is receiving remdesivir or placebo. Participants in the investigational treatment group will receive 200 milligrams (mg) of remdesivir intravenously on the first day of enrollment to the study. They will receive another 100 mg each day for the duration of hospitalization, for up to 10 days total. The placebo group will receive, at an equal volume, a solution that resembles remdesivir but contains only inactive ingredients.

Clinicians will regularly monitor participants and will assign them daily scores based on a predefined scale of clinical outcomes that considers factors such as temperature, blood pressure and use of supplemental oxygen, among others. Participants also will be asked to provide blood samples and nose and throat swabs approximately every two days. Researchers will test these specimens for SARS-CoV-2.

Initially, investigators will compare participant outcomes on day 15 in both the remdesivir group and the placebo group to see if the investigational drug increased clinical benefit compared to placebo. Outcomes are scored on a seven-point scale ranging from fully recovered to death. Investigators will reevaluate this scale after reviewing data from the first 100 participants.