COVID-19 Clinical Trials and Expanded Access

In the context of quarantine with COVID-19, we wish to study the experience and psychological impact in adult patients living with osteoporosis.

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), is a single-stranded RNA coronavirus. The virus was first isolated from patients presented with pneumonia in Wuhan in December 2019. Sequences of the Wuhan betacoronavirus show similarities to betacoronaviruses found in bats, sharing a common ancestor with the 2003 SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the bat coronavirus HKU9, a virus found in fruit bats. Similar to SARS-CoV, it is a member of Beta-CoV lineage B. Five genomes of the novel coronavirus have been initially isolated and reported including BetaCoV/Wuhan/IVDC-HB-01/2019, BetaCoV/Wuhan/IVDC-HB-04/2020, BetaCoV/Wuhan/IVDC-HB-05/2019, BetaCoV/Wuhan/WIV04/2019, and BetaCoV/Wuhan/IPBCAMS-WH-01/2019 from the China CDC. The SARS-CoV-2 has since spread from China to the rest of the world. As of 5 April 2020, more than 1.05 million people been confirmed to have infected by SARS-CoV-2, resulting in more than 500,000 deaths. No specific antiviral treatment for the SARS-CoV-2 is currently available, but existing medication could be repurposed. Genetic sequencing demonstrated similarity of the SARS-CoV-2 to the SARS-CoV and MERS CoV.2 We expect patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 will also present similarly with initial upper respiratory tract symptoms including fever, cough, sputum, myalgia and shortness or breath. More severe cases might complicate with pneumonia and required ventilatory or ECMO support. According to our previous studies in 2003 on patients hospitalized for severe SARS-CoV, the viral load peaked between day 7 from symptoms onset and coincided with clinical deterioration of pneumonia and respiratory failure, with majority of the patients required intensive care support. Higher viral load isolated from different human system also correlated with worsened SARS manifestation and complications. Previously, the investigators have demonstrated that interferon-beta 1b, commonly used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and lopinavir/ ritonavir, also demonstrated to improve the outcome of MERS-CoV infection in a non-human primate model of common marmoset. A non-randomized trial has also suggested that a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin might be effective in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 viral load in patients, despite in-vitro activity was only found in hydroxychloroquine. Therefore, the investigators propose to conduct an open-label randomized controlled trial on a short course of interferon β-1b and hydroxychloroquine combination treatment for patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection.

As of 30/03/2020, 715600 people have been infected with COVID-19 worldwide and 35500 people died, essentially due to respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) complicated in 25% of the with acute renal failure. No specific pharmacological treatment is available yet. The lung lesions are related to both the viral infection and to an intense inflammatory reaction. Because of it's action, as an immunomodulatory agent that can attenuate the inflammatory reaction and also strengthen the antiviral response, it is proposed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of intravenous immunoglobulin administration (IGIV) in patients developing ARDS post-SARS-CoV2. IGIV modulates immunity, and this effect results in a decrease of pro-inflammatory activity, key factor in the ARDS related to the COVID-19. It should be noted that IGIV is part of the treatments in various diseases such as autoimmune and inflammatory diffuse interstitial lung diseases. In addition, they have been beneficial in the post-influenza ARDS but also have been in 3 cases of post-SARS-CoV2 ARDS. IGIV is a treatment option because it is well tolerated, especially concerning the kidney. These elements encourage a placebo-controlled trial testing the benefit of IGIV in ARDS post-SARS-CoV2.

This is an international, multicenter, parallel-group, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, study in hospitalized adult patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India, Canada, and United Kingdom. The study is evaluating the effect of dapagliflozin 10 milligrams versus placebo, given once daily for 30 days in addition to background local standard of care therapy, on reducing complications and all-cause mortality, or improving clinical recovery.

Recent data from some of the earliest and worst affected countries of COVID-19 suggest a major overrepresentation of hypertension and diabetes among COVID-19-related deaths and among patients experiencing severe courses of the disease. The vast majority of patients with hypertension and/or diabetes are taking drugs targeting the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) because of their blood pressure-lowering and/or kidney-protective effects. Importantly, the virus causing COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) binds to the transmembrane protein angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) - an important component of RAS - for host cell entry and subsequent viral replication. ACE2 is normally considered to be an enzyme that limits airway inflammation via effects in RAS and increased ACE2 activity seems to alleviate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Importantly, evidence from human studies as well as rodent studies suggests that the inhibition of RAS by angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) leads to upregulation of ACE2, and treatment with ARB leads to attenuation of SARS-CoV-induced ARDS. This is of interest, as the vast majority of deaths from COVID-19 are due to ARDS and expression of ACE2 has previously been shown to be reduced by the binding of SARS-CoV to ACE2. Thus, ACE inhibitors and ARBs have been suggested to alleviate the COVID-19 pulmonary manifestations. In contrast to these notions, concern has been raised that ACE2 upregulation (by RAS-inhibiting drugs) will multiply the cellular access points for viral entry and might increase the risk of severe progression of COVID-19. The multiplied viral entry points could perhaps explain the alarmingly high morbidity and mortality among COVID-19 patients with diabetes and/or hypertension. Thus, a delineation of the role of RAS for the course of COVID-19 is of crucial importance for the management of COVID-19 patients. Aim: This randomised clinical trial will investigate whether to continue or discontinue treatment with ACE inhibitors or ARBs in hospitalised patients with COVID-19.

There is an urgent need for effective therapies against the novel COVID-19 virus. Studies have shown that amiodarone and verapamil can interfere with coronavirus entry and amplification by blocking ion channels. ReCOVery-SIRIO is a randomized study to investigate amiodarone or verapamil compared with usual care in symptomatic patients hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 infection.

The study objective is to investigate the diagnostic value and consistency of chest CT as compared with comparison to RT-PCR assay in COVID-19 in patients which were stratified for hospital admission.

The present Diagnostic Accuracy study aims at experimentally validating the use of a rapid salivary test to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals as a preliminary approach to a mass screening program. The study is based on a consecutive recruitment of both patients showing symptoms probably associated with COVID-19 (i.e., cough, dyspnea, fever) and asymptomatic patients with a low risk phenotype. The expected number of recruited individuals is 100. The experimental test is a prototype of salivary test based on the Lateral Flow Immunoassay technique and is able to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva, especially the Spike protein (S). The comparison is represented by the nasopharyngeal swab, the gold standard of COVID-19 diagnosis. Patients will undergo both salivary immunoassay and nasopharyngeal swab, thus the outcome assessors are blinded, since the results of the rRT-PCR analysis require at least 6 hours before being available. The main outcomes are sensibility and specificity of the rapid salivary test, when compared with the gold standard (nasopharyngeal swab).

In adults with COVID-19 without criteria for hospitalization or oxygen therapy but with risk factors for aggravation, early treatment may avoid hospitalization, indication for oxygen therapy or death. No treatment is currently validated for this indication.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,caused by the newly identified Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, has shown substantial global spread affecting over 2 million people and claiming over 120,000 lives to date. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The spectrum of manifestations of COVID19 infection ranges from mild flu-like symptoms to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with an associated fatality rate of 1.4%. The suggested mode of entry of the SARS-CoV-2 into the human respiratory epithelium is through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein expressed on alveolar cell surfaces. This entry mechanism has sparked the interest of the scientific community. Preliminary epidemiological reports showed an increased risk of ARDS in hypertensive COVID-19 patients. This leads to the hypothesis that hypertensives treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) are at an increased risk of developing complicated COVID-19 infections . Other studies have refuted these claims as unsupported. Studies revealing the up regulation of ACE2 in cells of patients treated with ACE-I or ARBs were the underlying foundation for these claims. This study aims to assess the impact of ACE-I and/or ARBs on the prognosis of patients with COVID19.