Kentish Express Ashford & District
Surgeries sign up to ‘Trump drug’ trial
GP practices across Kent are inviting patients with Covid19 symptoms to take part in a clinical trial of a drug labelled a “game-changer” by Donald Trump.
Twelves surgeries in the county are asking people over the age of 65, or those with underlying health conditions and aged 50 to 64, to enrol in the study.
Canterbury and Maidstone are at the centre of the trials in Kent, with four and three surgeries taking part respectively.
A further two in Rochester have signed up, along with others in Faversham, Whitstable and Dartford.
Those signing up will be given a seven-day course of hydroxychloroquine, which is typically used to treat malaria and certain types of arthritis.
In March the US President claimed the use of the drug in combination with azithromycin, an antibiotic, could be “one of the biggest game-changers in the history of medicine”.
But initial studies carried out in America have suggested it does not work against Covid-19.
Scientists leading the UK trial - called PRINCIPLE - hope to unearth a drug that could prevent coronavirus sufferers from being admitted to hospital.
Led by a team from Oxford University, the tests will initially see people given a course of hydroxychloroquine, followed by another of azithromycin.
Medics leading PRINCIPLE hope the trial will uncover a drug which slows or halts the progression of the virus.
The trial’s chief investigator, Professor Chris Butler, said: “The trial platform is enabling us to rapidly evaluate potential treatments for Covid-19 in older people who are most at risk of serious complications from the illness.
“With enough people recruited, this trial will give us the vital information we need to understand whether existing drugs can help people recover sooner and at home, without needing to be admitted to hospital - a significant milestone in the course of this pandemic.
“As soon as we find that any one of the drugs in our trial is making a critical difference to people’s health, we want it to be part of clinical practice as soon as it can be introduced.”
Those signing up must fit the age and health criteria and have a cough or fever. More than 500 GP practices across the country are taking part, including nine in Kent, covering 12 surgeries (see graphic).
Dr John Ribchester, the managing partner at Whitstable Medical Practice, said it signed up to help “learn about the pattern of the disease”.
“There are quite a few trials going on nationally and internationally because there are so many questions that aren’t answered yet,” he said. “We haven’t got to the point of recruiting patients to the trial yet.”
Dr Ribchester says more research needs to be carried out in order to peer review and double-check the findings.
“We need to know as much as we can in order to prevent it happening again,” he said.
“There are so many unanswered questions about how it’s transmitted and why certain groups of the population are more vulnerable to it than others because it’s a novel virus, one that hasn’t been seen in this form before.”
Sign up at phctrials.ox.ac.uk.