Participation in Solidarity24 Jul 2020 12:41
As of 1 July 2020, nearly 5500 patients have been recruited in 21 countries among the 39 countries that have approvals to begin recruiting. Overall, over 100 countries in all 6 WHO regions have joined or expressed an interest in joining the trial.
6 July 2020: On 4 July 2020, WHO accepted the recommendation from the Solidarity Trial’s International Steering Committee to discontinue the trial’s hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir arm, so the Lopinavir/Ritonavir-only arm was removed from this page (WHO Website) as a listed treatment option under study.
The treatment options are: Remdesivir and Lopinavir/Ritonavir with Interferon beta-1a. The treatment options were originally selected based on evidence from laboratory, animal and clinical studies.
Remdesivir was previously tested as an Ebola treatment. It has generated promising results in animal studies for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which are also caused by coronaviruses, suggesting it may have some effect in patients with COVID-19.
Lopinavir/Ritonavir is a licensed treatment for HIV. Evidence for COVID-19, MERS and SARS is yet to show it can improve clinical outcomes or prevent infection. This trial aims to identify and confirm any benefit for COVID-19 patients. While there are indications from laboratory experiments that this combination may be effective against COVID-19, studies done so far in COVID-19 patients have been inconclusive.
Interferon beta-1a is used to treat multiple sclerosis.