Australian COVID-19 drug trial to expand into over 80 hospitals

SYDNEY - An Australian trial to test the effectiveness of two drugs on patients with the COVID-19 began at the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Tuesday, with plans to expand into more than 80 hospitals.

Led by Associate Professor Steven Tong, a Royal Melbourne Hospital infectious diseases clinician and co-lead of clinical research at the Doherty Institute, the study will test the efficacy of lopinavir/ritonavir, which is currently used to treat HIV, and hydroxychloroquine, used to treat arthritis and prevent and treat malaria.

Laboratory testing has shown that both drugs can stop the progress of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the COVID-19, with the the World Health Organization acknowledging their treatment potential. However, more testing is needed to ensure they are safe and effective in humans.

The AustralaSian COVID-19 Trial (ASCOT) will recruit patients in over 70 hospitals across Australia, as well as 11 hospitals in New Zealand.

"The aim of ASCOT is to test whether using these drugs will prevent patients deteriorating to the point of needing a ventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU)," Tong said.

"We have designed the trial so that it's responsive and adaptive. This means that if one of the drugs is proving to be effective, we can adapt the trial to focus on that treatment. Conversely, if a drug isn't effective, or is causing severe side effects, we can stop it."

Screening began last week to identify eligible patients who will receive one of the two potential treatments, while others won't receive either drug in order to establish a baseline control.

"As is the nature of a clinical trial, some patients will not receive either drug, which is the current 'standard of care' for patients with the COVID-19," Tong explained.

"We plan to have other trial sites up and running later this week across Australia and to significantly contribute to the limited body of knowledge on how to treat the COVID-19."