COVID-19 Clinical Trials and Expanded Access

T-cell exhaustion may limit long-term immunity in COVID-19 patients. T cells can lose their ability to fight viruses and tumors when they have prolonged exposure to these enemies. New data suggests people who experience mild COVID-19 symptoms show the molecular signs of exhausted memory T cells and therefore could have a reduced ability to fight reinfection. On contrary people who develop severe COVID-19 symptoms may be better protected from reinfection. A recent study reported that the 82.1% of COVID-19 cases displayed low circulating lymphocyte counts . It has been reported that, in the case of chronic viruses, continuous PD-1 expression causes T-cell exhaustion, and impairs the ability of killing the infectious cells . The adumbration of patients with COVID-19 is characterized by a diminished lymphocyte percentage, with a similar proportion of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells. The quantity of T-cells, mostly CD8+ T-cells, presenting high expression rates of late activity marker CD25 and exhaustion marker PD-1 increases. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 is able to make changes by modifying the acquired immune system, including B and T cells. According to experiments, PD-1's expression, as an important factor in the induction and maintenance of circumferential tolerance keeping the stability of T-cells, has been found to have a higher percentage in different cells of COVID-19 patients. In an experiment conducted by Diao et al., on the patients with SARS-CoV-2, it was observed that the expression of PD-1 on the surface of T-cells was increased significantly; it was also shown that during the SARS-CoV-2 -induced disease, additional expressions of PD-1 and Tim-3 on the T-cells were directly related to the disease's severity; the factors that were also increased in other viral infections. T cell exhaustion" phenomenon could be reversed relatively easily, for example when the T cells are no longer exposed to the virus or tumor. But unfortunately, although exhausted T cells recovered from chronic infection (REC-TEX) regain some function and features of memory T cells (TMEM), they retain epigenetic scars indicating the control of gene expression is "locked in" to their exhaustion history. Once T cells become exhausted, they remain fundamentally 'wired' to be exhausted-thus it may be hard to get them to become effective virus- and cancer-fighters again," said John Wherry, PhD, chair of the department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics and director of the Penn Institute of Immunology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, COVID-19 may infect T lymphocyte cells and induce apoptosis and apoptotic markers. Lymphocytopenia was also found in the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) cases. MERS-CoV can directly infect human primary T lymphocytes and induce T-cell apoptosis through extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, but it cannot replicate in T lymphocytes. However, it is unclear whether SARS-CoV-2 can also infect T cells, resulting in lymphocytopenia. A study showed that T cells express a very low expression level of hACE2 on its cell surface and T-cell lines were significantly more sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 infection when compared with SARS-CoV . In other words, these results tell us that T lymphocytes may be more permissive to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, it is plausible that the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 might mediate potent infectivity, even on cells expressing low hACE2, which would, in turn, explain why the transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 is so high. Through recent advances in genomic editing, T cells can now be successfully modified via CRISPR/Cas9 technology. For instance, engaging (post-)transcriptional mechanisms to enhance T cell cytokine production, the retargeting of T cell antigen specificity or rendering T cells refractive to inhibitory receptor signaling can augment T cell effector function. Therefore, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing might provide novel strategies for inducing long term immunity against COVID-19.Immunotherapies with autologous T cells have become a powerful treatment option for many diseases like viral infection or cancer. These include the adoptive isolation and transfer of naturally-occurring virus/tumor-specific T cells and the transfer of T lymphocytes that have been genetically modified . According to the investigator, exhausted virus-reactive CD8+ memory T cells will be isolated from patients with mild infection using a modified antigen-reactive T cell enrichment (ARTE) assay. exhausted virus-reactive CD8+ memory T cells will be collected and both Programmed cell death protein 1(PDCD1) gene and ACE2 gene will be knocked out by CRISPR Cas9 in the laboratory. The lymphocytes will be selected and expanded ex vivo and infused back into patients.

This study will be carried out by more than 30 liberal Tunisian doctors, who will submit according to the inclusion / exclusion criteria of people who will receive (free of charge) a capsule of the Nig5 product sublingually, each day. Against a control group which will be followed with the same protocol as the first but which will not receive the product. Randomization (even days: nigella group, odd days: control group)

The purpose of this study is to take advantage of cohorts of patients followed for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) expected to present poor physical fitness as the consequence of COVID19 to explore the relationship between physical fitness and low back pain (LBP). Level of physical fitness will be measured at baseline and incidence and intensity of LBP will be recoreded over 1 year.

The purpose of the program. To determine the clinical, functional, immunological, and genetic factors affecting the severity of the course of acute coronavirus infection COVID-19 and PostCovid syndrome, in order to develop management tactics for such patients to reduce the risk of complications and disability.

The IN2COVID Study is a 2-staged phase I/II double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AP-003 (Interferon α2b) when administered via inhalation twice daily for 10 days. Participants will have a final visit at Day 11. A lead-in phase 1 substudy will be performed with at least 18 healthy adult male subjects to assess safety and tolerability of inhaled AP-003 compared to placebo for 10 days. Two cohorts of 9 subjects will be randomly assigned to receive two doses of inhaled AP-003 or placebo with an allocation ratio of 2:1. The first cohort will assess a dose of 2.5 MIU of inhaled AP-003. If no adverse events are observed, the second cohort will be conducted using a dose of 5 MIU of inhaled AP-003. Maximum tolerated dose will be determined in this phase 1 substudy. After the completion of phase 1, the study will continue with a phase 2 treatment RCT in patients with COVID-19. In this phase, 150 adults with mild or moderate COVID-19 demonstrated by SARS-CoV-2 positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ≤ 5 days at enrollment will be randomized 1:1 (75 in each arm) to receive nebulized AP-003 or identical placebo twice daily during 10 days.

Introduction: In late 2019, a novel human coronavirus was detected in Wuhan, China, causing an outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome - Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease that SARS-CoV-2 causes was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The virus rapidly spread throughout China and beyond, causing a public health challenge of global concern. Today, the availability of safe and effective drugs to treat COVID-19 remains limited, and symptomatic supportive treatments are the foundations of care. A natural glycophosphopeptical, AM3 has been shown to effectively improve the progression of infectious respiratory diseases with no side effects. In this context, AM3 could maintain an adequate immune status and serve as a therapeutic tool against COVID-19. Study Aim: The effect of AM3 supplementation on the progression of COVID-19 patients. To evaluate the existence of significant differences between control and intervention groups in the progression of severe COVID-19 disease. Methods: Double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial in collaboration with the Health Care Management of Soria. At the start of the trial, eligible patients will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio into two intervention and control groups. Block randomization with participants based on gender will be used. 120 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 by PCR and/or antigen testing will be randomized to the control group (placebo treatment) or experimental group (AM3 treatment), respectively. Patients will be randomly divided into two groups, the AM3 supplementation group (n=60) and the control group (n=60). The intervention group will be administered 2 indistinct capsules of AM3 (3 g/day of AM3) for 30 consecutive days, distributed in a single daily oral intake in the morning on an empty stomach. The control group will be administered a placebo of identical appearance of 2 indistinct capsules for a single daily intake in the morning, same dose as the experimental group (3 g/day of placebo), for 30 consecutive days.

The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2), an emerging coronavirus, which has already infected 192 million people with a case fatality rate close to 2%. About 5% of patients infected with SARS CoV-2 have a critical form with organ failure. Among critical patients admitted to intensive care, about 70% of them will require ventilatory assistance by invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) with a mortality rate of 35% and a median MV duration of 12 days. The most severe lung damage resulting from SARS CoV-2 infection is the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The virus infects alveolar epithelial cells and capillary endothelial cells leading to an activation of endothelium, hypercoagulability and thrombosis of pulmonary capillaries. This results in abnormal ventilation / perfusion ratios and profound hypoxemia. To date, the therapeutic management of severe SARS CoV-2 pneumonia lay on the early use of corticosteroids and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonist, which both reduce the need of MV and mortality. The risk factors of death in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are: advanced age, severe obesity, coronary heart disease, active cancer, severe hypoxemia, and hepatic and renal failure on admission. Among MV patients, the death rate is doubled in those with both reduced thoracopulmonary compliance and elevated D-dimer levels. Patients with severe alveolar damage are at risk of progressing towards irreversible pulmonary fibrosis, the incidence of which still remain unknown. The diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis is based on histology but there are some non-invasive alternative methods (serum or bronchoalveolar biomarkers, chest CT scan). We aim to assess the incidence of pulmonary fibrosis in patients with severe SARS CoV-2 related pneumonia. We will investigate the prognostic impact of fibrosis on mortality and the number of days alive free from MV at Day 90. Finally, we aim to identify risk factors of fibrosis.

An outbreak of the novel coronavirus nCoV-19 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), was first detected in Hubei province, Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019. It has rapidly spread globally with approximately 157,343,044 confirmed cases and 3,278,510 deaths till 7th May, 2021 [1]. World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID- 19 pandemic on 11th March 2020. The world is facing the second wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which is the most troublesome challenge to public health. The second wave is running and nobody knows where we are in the course of this disease. It becomes a significant challenge for the public health, science, and medical sectors [2]. According to the World Health Organization, about 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% result in moderate to severe symptoms (requiring oxygen) and about 5% are critical infections, which require ventilation. We are learning something new every day. Our understanding of the pandemic is growing and changing daily. The world is focusing on the short term - flattening the curve, treating the sick and discovering a vaccine. But there is more to this pandemic than the short term. We know a lot about the transmission and clinical feature of COVID-19, but relatively little about what happens after someone recovers. Much is still unknown about how COVID-19 will affect people over time. There's still much to be learned from those who have recovered from COVID-19.

This is a platform trial to conduct a series of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials using common assessments and endpoints in hospitalized adults diagnosed with COVID-19. BET is a proof-of-concept study with the intent of identifying promising treatments to enter a more definitive study. The study will be conducted in up to 70 domestic sites and 5 international sites. The study will compare different investigational therapeutic agents to a common control arm and determine which have relatively large effects. In order to maintain the double blind, each intervention will have a matched placebo. However, the control arm will be shared between interventions and may include participants receiving the matched placebo for a different intervention. The goal is not to determine clear statistical significance for an intervention, but rather to determine which products have clinical data suggestive of efficacy and should be moved quickly into larger studies. Estimates produced from BET will provide an improved basis for designing the larger trial, in terms of sample size and endpoint selection. Products with little indication of efficacy will be dropped on the basis of interim evaluations. In addition, some interventions may be discontinued on the basis of interim futility or efficacy analyses. One or more interventions may be started at any time. The number of interventions enrolling are programmatic decisions and will be based on the number of sites and the pace of enrollment. At the time of enrollment, subjects will be randomized to receive any one of the active arms they are eligible for or placebo. Approximately 200 (100 treatment and 100 shared placebo) subjects will be assigned to each arm entering the platform and a given site will generally have no more than 3 interventions at once. The BET-C stage will evaluate the combination of remdesivir with danicopan vs remdesivir with a placebo. Subjects will be assessed daily while hospitalized. Once subjects are discharged from the hospital, they will have a study visit at Days 8, 15, 22, 29, and 60 as an outpatient. The Day 8, Day 22 and Day 60 visits do not have laboratory tests or collection of samples and may be conducted by phone. All subjects will undergo a series of efficacy and safety laboratory assessments. Safety laboratory tests and blood (serum, plasma and RNA) research samples on Day 1 (prior to study product administration) and Days 3, 5, 8, and 11 while hospitalized. Blood research samples plus safety laboratory tests will be collected on Day 15 and 29 if the subject attends an in-person visit or is still hospitalized. However, if infection control considerations or other restrictions prevent the subject from returning to the clinic, Day 15 and 29 visits may be conducted by phone and only clinical data will be obtained. The primary objective is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of danicopan relative to the control arm in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 according to clinical status (8-point ordinal scale) at Day 8.

Gazelle COVID-19 is a fluorescent lateral flow immunoassay and accompanying Reader intended for the qualitative detection of nucleocapsid antigen from SARS-CoV-2 in nasal swab specimens from individuals who are suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider within 5 days of symptom onset. The study will be conducted To obtain data to measure the positive percent agreement and negative percent agreement of the Gazelle COVID-19 Test compared to Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).The study will assess Gazelle COVID-19 Test performance using dual mid-turbinate nasal swab samples. This study will primarily assess Gazelle COVID-19 Test performance on symptomatic subjects (within five days of onset of symptoms) at point of care (POC). A subset of asymptomatic subjects will be enrolled after the symptomatic subject enrollment is complete.