New Covid-19 antiviral treatment trials 'going very well' in the East
The PANORAMIC trial, which began recruiting volunteers from the East, is aiming to test a form of treatment patients can take at home
Last updated 10th Jan 2022
The early results of a trial which is studying the efficacy of a new Covid-19 antiviral treatment are encouraging, according to the lead investigator of the study for the East of England.
Last month, we broke the news of the Platform Adaptive trial of NOvel antiviRals for eArly treatMent of covid-19 In the Community (PANORAMIC) trial, which sought to recruit participants from our region to test a range of specially designed antiviral agents, which could help clinically vulnerable people recover from Covid-19 sooner and avoid the need for hospitalisation
Dr Serge Engamba is the Deputy Speciality Group Lead for Primary Care for the National Institute of Heath Research's Clinical Research Network for the East. He is also one of the principal investigators of this study.
He told us: "Up until now, the treatment of Covid-19 is focused mostly around supportive care and mostly for a patient who is severely ill and already in hospital. Now if you're ill and you're at home, there hasn't been anything that can be done for COVID-19, so that's what we're trying to address here.
"The PANORAMIC trial is looking at finding medication that you can take at home in the early days of the infection, to prevent you developing severe symptoms in the first place.
"That would mean a reduction in admissions to hospital and hopefully reduction in some of the pressure on the NHS at the moment."
It has been a month since the trials commenced and Dr Engamba says its going well: "What we're hearing so far is that what we were worried about in terms of side effects and way of use is actually not that much of a bother for patients at all. Most patients would say that it's quite easy to use and we haven't recorded any significant side effects at all.
"We're hoping that the results are replicated and that we have this as a new tool against COVID-19."
The results he is talking about refers to those they have seen when trialling the treatments in smaller groups in laboratory settings.
"Using healthy and non-vaccinated candidates, we have seen this effectiveness being initially about 50% (reducing hospitalisations by half) and on further review 30%.
"Now we are trialling it in the real world where most of us are vaccinated now. With a large sample size, we should be able to see how it actually performs in the real world. It might be better or a little bit less effective, but the initial results are very encouraging", he adds.
In the last few weeks, the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has stretched the NHS in many parts of the country and impacted local businesses and public services.
There are also fears about the efficacy of vaccines against this new variant. However, Dr Embanga says the nature of antivirals means that it could be effective against the newer strains of the virus.
"Initial results have shown that it (the new treatment) was working against the Delta variant. There is no reason to believe it will not work against Omicron.
"So, it could indeed be a game-changer. We could see quite a big difference in how many people need to be admitted to hospital and how much pressure the NHS is left to face."
Dr Emgamba expects more comprehensive results within the next six months. He adds that they are always looking for new participants to join the trial.
"This is not something that the scientific community can do on their own. We all have to chip in. The trials are for anyone above 50 years of age or for those who are between 18 and 49 years and have an underlying health condition. You are eligible provided you've had a PCR test that is positive and you've had symptoms within the last five days."
Those who test positive for Covid-19 in Norwich or the surrounding areas will be contacted by a research nurse and offered treatment using these antivirals. You can also visit the PANORAMIC trial website to register your participation, if you meet the eligibility criteria.