Halt on anti-virus drug trial

A TRIAL that could see Barwon Health coronavirus patients treated with controversial drug hydroxychloroquine has been put on pause.

Barwon Health had joined the Australasian COVID-19 trial (ASCOT) project, which planned to recruit patients in more than 70 hospitals across Australia alongside 11 hospitals in New Zealand.

Patients and researchers at Barwon Health were set to be part of the trial, aimed at testing the effectiveness and safety of two drugs — lopinavir/ ritonavir, which is used to treat HIV, and hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, also used to treat arthritis — as potential treatments.

But a spokesperson for the trial said after an observational study published in The Lancet on May 22, the ASCOT trial had paused patient recruitment pending deliberations by the governance and ethics committees overseeing the trial.

“We expect these deliberations to occur rapidly and will provide further information as they arise,” the spokesperson said.

The study reported hydroxychloroquine could lead to higher death rates and heart palpitations when used to treat COVID-19.

There are currently no implications for Barwon Health staff and patients, since it did not have eligible patients and no one enrolled in the trial.

The ASCOT trial began at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in April.

The World Health Organisation has also paused trials using hydroxychloroquine on coronavirus patients.

US President Donald Trump has drawn criticism for championing the drug when its efficacy was not definitively established.