YRMC joins international COVID-19 clinical trial

Yuma-area residents may participate in research, info webinar Friday

Yuma Regional Medical Center recently joined a “prestigious” international clinical trial that is researching a potential treatment for COVID-19 that could help to reduce complications and hospitalizations due to the virus or even save lives in Yuma and around the world.

The clinical trial, called Colcorona, is exploring the potential to treat COVID-19 patients by using a wellknown, widely available and inexpensive anti-inflammatory medication called Colchicine. The drug is commonly used to treat conditions such as gout, pericarditis and familial

Mediterranean fever.

In addition to Yuma, the clinical trial’s other locations in the United States are the New York tri-state area, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Rochester, Greenville, Chapel Hill and Bakersfield.

People living within 40 miles of Yuma who meet certain patient criteria may be able to participate in the Colcorona trial, which would provide the medication for free. Treatment would take place in the patient’s home. Participants do not have to be YRMC patients.

The clinical trial is led by a highly respected medical team at the Montreal Heart Institute and the Montreal Health Innovations Coordinating Center in Canada. The research is being supported by doctors throughout Canada, United States, Spain, Brazil and South Africa.

Funding for the clinical trial has been provided by the Government of Quebec, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“By participating in this clinical trial, we are continuing to help advance health care and aid those seeking a treatment for the potentially devastat

ing health complications caused by COVID-19,” said Dr. Oday Al-Rabadi, the principal investigator for the trial at YRMC.

Colcorona represents one of many clinical trials currently being overseen by Yuma Regional Medical Center Institutional Research. (For more information, go to https:// yumaregional.org/Medical-Services/Clinical-Trials.)

Colcorona’s participants are recently diagnosed COVID-19 patients or people who are currently showing symptoms and have a household member diagnosed with COVID-19. Participants for the Yuma portion of the study must be over the age of 40 and live in Arizona.

Once enrolled, the medicine or placebo is delivered directly to participants’ homes at no cost. Patients will have the support of a dedicated healthcare team 24/7 for any questions. The study’s staff will contact patients directly via phone or video visits for follow-up communication.

This research is one of just a few clinical trials that tests a treatment at the time of diagnosis against a placebo while the patients are caring for themselves at home.

“Extending Colcorona’s locations to include Yuma Regional Medical Center as a site allows us to reach even more diverse populations across the country,” said Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, director of the Research Centre at the Montreal Heart Institute. Tardif is a professor of medicine at the University of Montreal, and Colcorona principal investigator.

Yuma-area physicians and interested community members are invited to join a webinar titled “Can We Reduce or Prevent Complications of COVID-19?” scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday. Featured speakers will include Tardif and Al-Rabadi. Register for the free webinar here: https:// bit.ly/3dTyCPN%20.

Recent COVID-19 statistics in Arizona point to the need for finding a good treatment. State health officials stress that the global pandemic has recently not ended. Officials reported

Monday that Arizona on that day alone saw 801 new cases of COVID-19, as identified cases of positive diagnosis top 238,964 and continue to climb in our state.

Patients and physicians who are interested in COLCORONA may call the study hotline at 1-877-5366837 or visit www.colcorona.net.