COVID-19 Clinical Trials and Expanded Access

ORCHID is a multicenter, blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial evaluating hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of adults hospitalized with COVID-19. Patients, treating clinicians, and study personnel will all be blinded to study group assignment.

In order to assess the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine treatment weekly for a total of 7 weeks in the prevention of COVID-19 infection, three hundred sixty (360) Healthcare workers with high risk exposure to patients infected with COVID-19 will be tested for COVID-19 infection via nasopharyngeal (NP) swab once weekly for 7 weeks. Of those, one hundred eighty (180) will receive weekly doses of hydroxychloroquine for the duration of the study. Subjects who opt not to receive the study drug will form the control group.

Phase II & Phase III: This is a pragmatic, adaptive, randomized, multicenter phase II/III study evaluating IFX-1 for the treatment of COVID-19 related severe pneumonia. The study consists of two parts: Phase II, an open-label, randomized, 2-arm phase evaluating best supportive care (BSC) + IFX-1 (Arm A) and BSC alone (Arm B); and Phase III, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized phase comparing standard of care (SOC) + IFX-1 (Arm A) versus SOC + placebo-to-match (Arm B)

In December 2019, a new virus emerged in Wuhan, China rapidly becoming a pandemic with registered cases above 800,000 around the world. The virus is now known as SARS-CoV2 calling its disease coronavirus-19 or COVID-19. The mortality of the virus has been reported around 2-10% and its causes because of the proinflammatory immune response generated on the host. The cytokines involved in the immune response to COVID-19 are IL-1, IL-2, IL4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17, GCSF, MCSF, IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1α, HGF, IFN-γ y TNF-α. Ruxolitinib is an inhibitor of JAK 1/2 which is responsable for multiple cellular signals including the proinflammatory IL-6. Ruxolitinib works as and immunomodulator decreasing the cytotoxic T lymphocytes and increasing the Treg cells. This study is intended to stop the disregulated immune response caused by COVID-19 that generates the pneumonia and subsequent severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Patients with documented moderate COVID-19 infection will be randomized 1:1 to receive piclidenoson 2 mg Q12H orally with standard supportive care (SSC - intervention arm) or placebo orally with SSC (control arm) for up to 28 days.

Convalescent plasma (CP) has been used in recent years as an empirical treatment strategy when there is no vaccine or treatment available for infectious diseases. In the latest viral epidemics, such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, the World Health Organization issued a document outlining a protocol for the use of whole blood or plasma collected from patients who have recovered from the Ebola virus disease by transfusion to empirically treat local infectious outbreaks

Whereas the pandemic due do Covid-19 continues to spread, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in 30% of patients with a 30%-60% mortality rate for those requiring hospitalization in an intensive care unit. The main physio-pathological hallmark is an acute pulmonary inflammation. Currently, there is no treatment. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) feature several attractive characteristics: ease of procurement, high proliferation potential, capacity to home to inflammatory sites, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and immunomodulatory properties. If all MSC share several characteristics regardless of the tissue source, the highest productions of bioactive molecules and the strongest immunomodulatory properties are yielded by those from the Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord. An additional advantage is that they can be scaled-up to generate banks of cryofrozen and thus readily available products. These cells have already been tested in several clinical trials with an excellent safety record. The objective of this project is to treat intubated-ventilated patients presenting with a SARS-CoV2-related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) of less than 96 hours by three intravenous infusions of umbilical cord Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (UC-MSC) one every other day (duration of the treatment: one week). The primary endpoint is the PaO2/FiO2 ratio at day 7. The evolution of several inflammatory markers, T regulatory lymphocytes and donor-specific antibodies will also be monitored. The trial will include 40 patients, of whom 20 will be cell-treated while the remaining 20 patients will be injected with a placebo solution in addition to the standard of care. Given the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV2, it is thus sound to hypothesize that the intravenous administration of UC-MSC during the initial phase of ARDS could control inflammation, accelerate its recovery with improved oxygenation, reduced mechanical ventilation and ventilation weaning time and therefore reduced length of stay in intensive care. The feasibility of the project is supported by the expertise of the Meary Cell and Gene Therapy Center, which is approved for the production of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products and has already successfully prepared the first batches of cells, as well as by the involvement of a cardiac surgery team which will leverage its experience with stem cells for the treatment of heart failure to make it relevant to the Stroma-Cov-2 project.

A prospective, controlled, randomized, multicenter study whose goal is to compare the efficacy of an autophagy inhibitor (GNS561), an anti-NKG2A (monalizumab) and an anti-C5aR (avdoralimab) versus standard of care in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer who have Sars-CoV-2 infection not eligible to a resuscitation unit. According to their severity level at the time of enrolment, eligible patients will be randomized into 2 different cohorts: - COHORT 1 (mild symptoms or asymptomatic): GNS561 vs anti-NKG2A vs standard of care (randomization ratio 1:1:1). - COHORT 2 (moderate/severe symptoms): anti-C5aR vs standard of care (randomization ratio 1:1).

Background and Project Rationale: Degenerative aortic valve stenosis affects 2% of the elderly population aged 70 years or older and progresses insidiously with advancing age [1] before manifesting with symptoms such as decreased exercise tolerance, shortness of breath, chest pain and syncope on exertion. Without aortic valve replacement, the survival prognosis of patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis is poor. In the PARTNER 1B trial, all-cause mortality among 179 inoperable patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis allocated to conservative management amounted to 51% at one year [2]. Consistently, prospective registry data reported a mortality rate of 55% at 1 year in 78 patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing conservative management [3]. The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic represents an unprecedented challenge for healthcare systems. A limited number of ventilators and ICU beds call for a careful allocation of healthcare resources. On March 20 2020, the Federal Council prohibited elective interventions in all hospitals in Switzerland. Patients with untreated severe aortic stenosis are particularly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection [4] and face the dual risk of cardiac death from aortic stenosis on one side, and death from acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection on the other. While the balance between the two risks is a matter of clinical judgement, the investigators established an algorithm for the management of patients with severe aortic stenosis during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Patients with aortic stenosis deemed critical will undergo valvular replacement in spite of the ongoing pandemic while patients with severe but not critical aortic stenosis will undergo deferred intervention once the number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections flattens. In the current situation, aortic valve replacement in patients with severe, non-critical aortic stenosis will be deferred in order to give priority to SARS-CoV-2 patients. This unique situation allows the investigators to study the effect of deferral of aortic valve replacement in patients with severe aortic stenosis. The study is an amendment to the Swiss-TAVI registry. In contrast to the Swiss-TAVI registry, patients are not enrolled at the time of aortic valve replacement, but already at the time of referral for aortic valve replacement. Primary Objective: The aim of the present observational study is to explore the effect of deferral of valvular replacement in patients with severe but not critical aortic stenosis on morbidity and mortality. The primary objective is to describe rates of morbidity and mortality among patients with severe but not critical aortic stenosis in the interval from referral/indication for valvular replacement to intervention. Project Design: The study is a prospective cohort study of patients with severe aortic stenosis referred for aortic valve replacement. All referrals for aortic valve replacement will be allocated to either "transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)/ surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) (standard of care)" or "deferred intervention" based on prespecified criteria. Patients with critical aortic stenosis as defined by an aortic valve area (AVA) 60 mmHg or a history of cardiac decompensation during the previous 3 months or clinical symptoms on minimal exertion (NYHA III) will be allocated to TAVR or SAVR. All other patients with severe aortic stenosis defined by an AVA

The aim of the study is to evaluate whether the therapy with chloroquine phosphate (CQ, in combination with telemedical approach) in addition to standard care is effective and safe in reducing composite endpoint of COVID-19-related hospitalization or all cause death, in ambulatory patients with SARS-SoV-2 infection at particular risk of serious complications due to advanced age and/or comorbid conditions (in comparison with subjects not treated with CQ but receiving standard care and supervised telemedically).