Over-50s needed to trial ‘exciting’ Covid pill
OVER-50s with Covid-19 symptoms can now access anti-viral drugs as part of a landmark UK study.
No input from the GP is necessary – patients simply register their interest in taking part in the University of Oxford trial on a website.
It comes a fortnight after The Mail on Sunday revealed that many of the most high-risk patients, such as those with blood cancer, have struggled to access the drug, despite it being approved for this group of patients since November.
Molnupiravir has been shown to cut the risk of hospitalisation due to Covid by up to a half when treatment begins within the first five days of symptoms developing.
Taken as four oral capsules every 12 hours for five days, it prevents viral cells from replicating, reducing the severity of Covid illness.
Molnupiravir is one of several antiviral Covid treatments, including Sotrovimab and Ronapreve, to receive the green light in the past three months.
Until now they have been available only to high-risk patients, such as those with immune system problems due to cancer treatments or transplants.
The new Oxford trial is looking to recruit healthy, vaccinated middle-aged and older volunteers, who are experiencing symptoms and have a positive PCR or lateral flow test, to discover if the drug is as effective in this group.
Over-18s who suffer with specific underlying conditions, listed on the study website, are also eligible. So far, only 4,200 participants have signed up, out of a target of 10,600.
The trial’s chief investigator Chris Butler, Professor of Primary Care in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said: ‘It is early on in the illness, when people are still being cared for in the community, that treatments for Covid-19 could have their greatest benefit.
‘So far, a lot of the research has focused on finding out if well-known drugs can be repurposed to treat Covid-19. This new trial will test whether exciting, new anti-viral treatments that are more specific to Covid19 help people in the community recover faster and reduce the need for treatment in hospital.’
The trial will also assess the effectiveness of treatments on preventing the spread of Covid by offering treatment to household contacts of participants.
Once volunteers have provided health details online and been accepted on the trial, they will be randomly allocated into one of two groups – usual NHS care, or the drug.
Those in the drug group will receive the recommended supply of tablets through the post.
Participants are also required to take part in a daily online questionnaire for 28 days, or take a call from the trial team on days 7, 14 and 28.
Follow-up calls are made after three and six months, to ask about potential long Covid symptoms.
For more information and to sign up, visit panoramictrial.org.