SOLIDARITY Clinical Trial to Investigate Coronavirus Treatments

With the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus rapidly spreading rapidly through Europe, healthcare leaders admit they have few specific 'tools' to treat those who are sick.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it is launching a 4 drug clinical trial named SOLIDARITY, to investigate potential therapies to treat patients with COVID-19 disease.

The medications to be tested include chloroquine, remdesivir, and various combinations of lopinavir and ritonavir; lopinavir and ritonavir, and is some cases, interferon-beta.

The WHO’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a briefing on March 18, 2020, that 10 countries have already indicated they will take part in the SOLIDARY trial.

‘Many countries have already confirmed that they will join the SOLIDARITY trial - Argentina, Bahrain, Canada, France, Iran, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand - and I trust many more will join.’

‘We commend the researchers around the world who have come together to systemically evaluate experimental therapeutics.’

‘Multiple small trials with different methodologies may not give us the clear, strong evidence we need about which treatments help to save lives.’

‘The WHO and its partners are therefore organizing a study in many countries in which some of these untested treatments are compared with each other.

‘This large, international study is designed to generate the robust data we need, to show which treatments are the most effective.’

‘More than 200,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported to WHO, and more than 8,000 people have lost their lives.’

‘We know that many countries now face escalating epidemics and are feeling overwhelmed. More than 80 percent of all cases are from 2 regions – the Western Pacific and Europe.’

‘I continue to be inspired by the many demonstrations of solidarity from all over the world. That same spirit of solidarity must be at the center of our efforts to defeat COVID-19,’ concluded Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

On March 18, 2020, the NEJM published a study focusing on an antiviral-drug candidate that is a combination of the HIV protease inhibitors lopinavir and ritonavir.

'What makes the lopinavir–ritonavir combination particularly attractive is that it is widely available and manufacturable to scale and that it could be prescribed immediately. In fact, there are several case reports and case series where this agent is being used against COVID-19 disease,' said these researchers.

However, lopinavir–ritonavir does not seem to be highly effective in treating COVID-19 patients.' 

'When designing this study, these investigators prioritized speed to rapidly produce an answer. The results of such trials, providing either convincing positive or convincing negative findings, will be central to clinical care as the dangerous coronavirus outbreak continues.'

As of March 18, 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any medication to treat the COVID-19 disease. 

There are various antiviral agents, immunotherapies, and vaccines are currently being developed as potential therapies for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and the disease it causes, COVID-19.

Coronavirus medication and vaccine development news published by Precision Vaccinations.