COVID-19 Clinical Trials and Expanded Access

COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, currently poses a global economic, social, political and medical challenge. The virus originated in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has spread rapidly around the world. Currently, European countries, including Austria, are severely affected.The most common computed tomographic changes in acute lung injury include bilateral and subpleural milk glass opacity, consolidation in lower lobes, or both. In the intermediate phase of the infection (4-14 days after the onset of symptoms) a so-called "crazy paving" may occur. The most prominent radiological changes occur around day 10, followed by gradual resolution, which begins two weeks after the onset of symptoms. Given the phylogenetic relationship between SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2, the similar clinical course in severe cases and overlapping CT patterns in the acute setting, persistent radiological and pulmonary functional changes in survivors are conceivable. It is also conceivable that a proportion of survivors will develop progressive ILD, either due to viral or ventilator-induced alveolar damage, or both. Here, the investigators intend to investigate COVID-19 survivors through clinical examinations, functional lung examinations, HR-CT scans, and by determining the "immunofibrotic" pattern in peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) 1, 3, and 6 months after discharge.

Patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 present a very high risk of thromboembolic disease.This multicenter, prospective, randomized, event-driven study evaluates rivaroxaban compared with standard of care with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) or unfractionated heparin (UFH) at prophylactic doses comparing D-dimer levels and the seven-category ordinal scale recommended by the WHO 7 days post randomization in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. Experimental intervention/Index test: Patients randomized into the rivaroxaban arm will receive rivaroxaban 20 mg once daily (OD) until day 7 post randomization or hospital discharge, whichever occurs later, followed by a 28-day-phase of prophylactic anticoagulation with rivaroxaban 10mg OD. Subjects with an eGFR between 30 and 50ml/min/1,73m2, will receive 15mg instead of 20mg OD. Control intervention/Reference test: The control group will receive standard of care including LMWH or UFH as thromboprophylaxis. Duration of intervention per patient: The total duration of the study treatment is flexible. For out-patients 7 days of therapeutic anticoagulation will be accompanied by 28 days-phase of prophylactic anticoagulation, summing up to 35 days. For subjects that require hospitalization, the duration of therapeutic anticoagulation will be at least 7 days or prolonged until discharge if hospitalized for more than 7 days post randomization. After discharge from the hospital the subject receives 28 days of thromboprophylaxis with rivaroxaban. No study medication will be given past day 60 post randomization. This adds up to a study duration between 35 and 60 days depending on the duration of the hospital stay. Follow-up per patient: The study has a follow-up of 60 days. Experimental and/or control off label or on label in Germany: Rivaroxaban has been approved for multiple indications worldwide. Over 100,000 subjects have been studied from Phase 1 through multiple large Phase 4 studies in multiple settings, e.g. for the reduction in the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in arterial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, major cardiovascular events. The drug had not been studied in patients with COVID-19 as an anticoagulant agent, yet.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine not only protects against tuberculosis, but has also been shown to induce protection against various infections with a viral aetiology, leading to significant reductions in morbidity and mortality. We hypothesize that BCG vaccination might be a potent preventive measure against SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or may reduce disease severity in elderly people, who are known to be at increased risk of illness and death from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, we will in this placebo-controlled adaptive multi-centre randomized controlled trial evaluate the ability of BCG to reduce hospital admission and its efficacy to improve the clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in elderly people((≥ 60 years of age).

The purpose of this randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled study is to assess the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib in hospitalized adult (18-99 years old) patients with SARS-CoV-2 and pneumonia who require supplemental oxygen and have serologic markers of inflammation but do not need mechanical ventilation.

Although SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated coronavirus) due to COVID-19 evolves poorly towards ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) and death, there is to date no validated drug available for severe forms of COVID-19. Patients with COVID-19 undergo a drastic decrease of T lymphocytes (LT) count, while the remaining ones display an "exhausted" phenotype, due to immunosuppressive pathway activation among which the Programed cell Death 1 (PD1) receptor pathways. LT exhaustion is responsible for host anergy towards viral infection and leads to increased risk of severe forms of COVID-19. Moreover, while the number of systemic LT PD1+ correlates with poor prognosis clinical stages of COVID-19 infection, healing from COVID-19 associates with LT PD1 expression normalization. Chinese epidemiologic data identified clinical risk factors of poor clinical evolution (i.e. ARDS or death), among which is found obesity, similarly to observation previously obtained during H1N1 infection (flu virus). Obese persons display meta-inflammation and immune dysfunction, a condition similar to ageing, thus termed "Inflamm-aging", thus also used during obesity. Inflamm-aging, characterized by cytotoxic LT exhaustion and reduced NK cell (Natural Killer cell) cytotoxic function secondary to PD1 pathway activation, could contribute to the poor prognosis observed during cancer and infection in obese individuals. We hypothesize that the immunocompromised profile observed during obesity contribute to their vulnerability towards COVID-19. In cancer or certain infection diseases, NIVOLUMAB, an anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody, restores exhausted LT immunity. We thus hypothesize that NIVOLUMAB-induced immunity normalization could (i) stimulate anti-viral response also during COVID-19 infection and (ii) prevent ARDS development, which has previously been associated with low LT count concomitant with increased inflammatory cytokine production. This randomized controlled therapeutic trial, using an add-on strategy to usual standard of care, aims at demonstrating the efficacy and safety of NIVOLUMAB-induced cytotoxic LT normalization, to improve clinical outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19+ adult obese individuals with low LT, since they are at risk of poor prognosis. We postulate that NIVOLUMAB will increase the number of individuals able to stop oxygen therapy at D15

Patients suffering from pneumonia due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, after admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), are susceptible to development of various functional sequelae, increased risk of chronic diseases, increased mortality rates and existence of relevant impacts on their quality of life in the months and years that follow the ICU admission. The present study aims to assess the determinants of health-related quality of life and patient-centered long-term outcomes among patients recovered from SARS-COV-2 pneumonia, after discharge from the ICU, its determinants and predictors, in Portugal. It is a multicenter prospective cohort study of adult patients admitted at the ICU due to proven or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, included 90 days after discharge from the ICU. The primary outcome is one-year health-related quality of life assessed by the EQ-5D-3L. The secondary outcomes are all-cause mortality, rehospitalizations, return to work or study, the degree of dependence and functional capacity, symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress, level of physical activity and cognitive, renal and respiratory functions after ICU discharge. Investigators will collect data by means of structured telephone interviews, at a 12 months follow up period.

The administration of low-dose lung irradiation produces anti-inflammatory effects that will decrease the pulmonary inflammatory response. The present study will evaluate the efficacy of treatment with low-dose pulmonary radiotherapy added to standard support therapy, in hospitalized patients with respiratory symptoms due to COVID-19 pneumonia, who do not experience improvement with conventional medical therapy and are not subsidiaries of ICU

The classic myeloproliferative neoplasias (MNP), including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), primary myelofibrosis (PMF) or secondary to PV or ET, are among the most frequent of malignant hemopathies, with overall prevalence estimated at around 10,000 patients followed in France. Due to the median age of patients around 65, the frequency of cardiovascular complications of these thrombogenic diseases and the impact of cytoreductive treatments on immune cells, these patients are considered to be at risk of developing forms severe of COVID-19. This study will assess the impact of MNPs on the risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19, identify new risk factors linked to the disease as well as the impact of treatments for MNPs according to their pharmacological class.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading continuously, and in Brazil, until May 31, 2020, there have been more than 450.000 cases with more than 28.000 deaths, with daily increases. The present study proposes to evaluate the efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma in treatment of severe cases of COVID-19 in a multicenter, randomized, open-label and controlled study

End-stage organ failure is estimated to affect more than 4 to 6 million persons worldwide. In 2018, transplant systems across the globe enabled around 150,000 patients to benefit from a kidney, heart, lung, liver, or other solid organ, a number that was far less than the demand. According to data from the World Health Organization, more than 1,500,000 persons live with a transplanted organ worldwide. In the US, approximately 40,000 patients receive an organ transplant every year, but 120,000 still remain waitlisted for transplantation today, with 7,600 dying annually while waiting for an organ transplant. A similar lack of organs and high death rates on the waiting list affect patients in Europe and many other countries. As nations adjust to new realities driven by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, many health care providers, institutions and patients are concerned about the potential impact that COVID-19 will have on organ donation and transplantation. One concern is that transplant recipients may have a greater susceptibility to infection and greater viral burden. A second concern is that hospitals will lack the resources in terms of staff and equipment to care for recipients after transplantation, who often require intensive care and multispecialty management. Because of the overwhelming healthcare system burden, a dramatic negative effect on worldwide organ donation and transplantation is anticipated, but has not been measured. Our objective was to quantify the worldwide impact of COVID-19 pandemic on organ donation and transplantation and consequences for waitlisted patients.