People in East England invited to take part in clinical trial for new COVID-19 antiviral treatments
Patients who are between 18 and 49 and have an underlying health condition or are over-50 are eligible for the study
Last updated 9th Dec 2021
Local GPs and healthcare professionals in the East of England have begun enrolling people for the trials of new, 'ground-breaking' antiviral Covid-19 treatments.
The The Platform Adaptive trial of NOvel antiviRals for eArly treatMent of covid-19 In the Community (PANORAMIC) trial will 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 Chris Butler is the Professor for Primary Care and the joint chief investigator of the study. He says, "Contributing to help find evidence about what does work and doesn't work is a great public service. By joining the trial you may also get early access to the treatment, which may benefit you.
"People contributing will really contribute to the development of the evidence that we urgently need about whether these drugs should be used at scale."
Those who are in interested in taking part can reach out to their GP or the PANORAMIC trial website. Dr Butler lists the eligibility criteria for participation: "If you are unwell with Covid-19, had a positive test for the condition, are aged between 18-49 with an underlying health condition or over 50 and have been sick for five days or less, they can access the trial.
"If they are eligible, we will have a discussion with them with a medically qualified person or research nurse, to explore their eligibility, get their consent and explain the trial format with them. We'll then get the medication delivered to their house."
He is urging as many people as possible who are eligible to get in touch and participate in the trial. "If we get enough people in the study helping us, then we can generate the evidence that the world needs, and the UK needs to figure out if these drugs do what we hope they will do.
"Here we have an opportunity to test the treatment to be taken in the community before people ever need to get into hospital, with the hope of keeping them from deteriorating and getting that evidence in place is a wonderful opportunity for people who might be eligible for the study to contribute."
They are optimistic that if the trials are successful then they can roll the treatment out more widely, as soon as possible.
"The UK Government has procured large quantities of these novel antiviral agents and we really just waiting for the evidence that PANORAMIC will generate before they are deployed at scale", he says.
Given the increasing concerns over the Omicron strain of coronavirus, Dr Butler believes this new treatment could play a vital role in dealing with the threat that it poses. "Vaccination remains a critical component of our fight against the virus. Behaviour change is also important but these novel antivirals are a potential that has game changing possibilities for us."