COVID-19 Clinical Trials and Expanded Access

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed tremendous stress on the global economy since its outbreak in December 2019. Currently, with nearly 1.3 million confirmed cases, there is still no effective way to contain the disease. The transmission of COVID-19 occurs via direct (prolonged close interaction, within 2 meters for more than 30 minutes) and indirect (fomites) contacts. Locally, the risk of COVID-19 infection in household contacts of confirmed cases is about 4%. These at-risk individuals are identified through contact tracing and infectious may be preventable using post-exposure-prophylaxis (PEP). However, there has yet to be a single effective, safe, and affordable pharmacological agent with such capabilities. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a cheap anti-malarial and immunomodulatory agent which may potentially be used as PEP against COVID-19. HCQ is capable of blocking the invasion and intracellular replication of the virus. Existing studies have reported efficacy of HCQ in treating COVID-19, with reduced time to clinical recovery and few reports of patients suffering from significant side effects. However, existing studies are largely limited by their small sample sizes. Furthermore, there has yet to be a published trial on HCQ's role in PEP. This cluster randomized trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral HCQ PEP, taken over for 5 days, in reducing the number of infected household contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients under home quarantine. Comparison will be made between HCQ PEP (treatment group) and no treatment (control group). Subjects will be followed up over a course of 28 days, with daily symptom monitoring conducted over phone calls. Positive outcomes from this study will provide a means for us to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of this research is to see if the DPP4 inhibitor linagliptin, an oral medication commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes,can help with diabetes control and reduce the severity of the COVID-19 infection

Experimental intervention: Insertion of Extracorporal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) within 24 hours of referral to an Intensive Care Unit. Control intervention: Insertion of Extracorporal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) as rescue therapy following failure of conventional therapy for ARDS. This conventional therapy will be standardized to reduce bias. Duration of intervention per patient: varies, depending on severity of pulmonary compromise Follow-up per patient: Until hospital discharge Accompanying measures: Serum Samples and bronchoscopy samples of patients included into the trial for secondary analysis of inflammatory parameters and potential biomarkers

COVID-19 is associated with complications including ARDS and myocardial injury, which informs prognosis and patient outcome. The laboratory plans to perform immunophenotyping of peripheral T-cells in patients with COVID-19 and complications (ARDS, ITU admission, myocardial injury) and map this against clinical patient outcomes. The aim is to determine if there is a specific T-cell immunophenotype associated with COVID-19 and/or complications, which can be used to inform prognosis and potential therapies.

The emerging field of stem cell therapy holds promise of treating a variety of diseases. Especially the mesenchymal stromal cells from bone marrow or adipose tissue (ASCs) have proven their potential for regenerative therapy in patients with ischemic heart disease. Both of these cell types have putative immunomodulatory properties, as they have demonstrated their ability to evade recognition and actively suppress the immune system. This knowledge is transferred into studies with COVID-19 patients having severe pulmonary dysfunction, to modify the virus induced immunological and inflammatory activity involved in the progression of disease often leading to prolonged ICU stay and in some occasion's death. We will conduct a clinical trial in which patients with COVID-19 and severe pulmonary symptoms will be randomized to either placebo or treatment with allogeneic CSCC_ASCs from adipose tissue. The aim is to assess the impact of CSCC_ASCs on the activated immune system and clinical efficacy on pulmonary function. The perspective is that this new information can be of pivotal importance and potentially be a paradigm shift for the clinical problems and severe outcome seen in some patients with severe COVID-19 and other severe diseases with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

This study plans to learn more about the effects of a medicine called baricitinib on the progression of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease of 2019), the medical condition caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Baricitinib is FDA-approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition. This study intends to define the impact of baricitinib on the severity and progression of COVID-19. This drug might to lower the hyperinflammation caused by the virus, which would prevent damage to the lungs and possibly other organs. The study will recruit patients who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The goal is to recruit 80 patients.

The study will be a randomized controlled trial, involving patients with hyposmia/anosmia of onset immediately after an upper respiratory viral illness, assigned to three distinct study arms. Nasal irrigations will be prescribed to all three groups (BID). In addition, one arm will receive a paper hand-out about post-viral anosmia with instructions to smell common household items (current care) and act as a control group. The second group will receive an essential oil retraining kit, whereas the third group will receive the same olfactory training kit and a prescription to use budesonide with the nasal irrigations. Olfactory scores will be tested at the enrollment, 3 months and at 6 months.

The purpose is to investigate the COVID-19 prevalence, associated morbidity and long-term cognitive deficits in consecutive patients presenting with acute neurological symptoms

This is a multicentered, open-label, randomized controlled Phase 2 trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of providing human coronavirus-immune convalescent plasma as treatment for COVID-19 disease in hospitalized children in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patients with COVID-19 requiring inpatient hospitalization will be randomized to treatment with standard of care or standard of care + bicalutamide. This will be a randomized, open-label study to determine if bicalutamide improves the rate of clinical improvement in patients with COVID-19.