WHO Launches Global Megatrial of the Four Most Promising Coronavirus Treatments
By News
Published 4 years ago on
March 24, 2020
Share
[aggregation-styles]
Science
Could any of these drugs hold the key to saving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients from serious harm or death? On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a large global trial, called SOLIDARITY, to find out whether any can treat infections with the new coronavirus for the dangerous respiratory disease.
It’s an unprecedented effort—an all-out, coordinated push to collect robust scientific data rapidly during a pandemic. The study, which could include many thousands of patients in dozens of countries, has been designed to be as simple as possible so that even hospitals overwhelmed by an onslaught of COVID-19 patients can participate.
With about 15% of COVID-19 patients suffering from severe disease and hospitals being overwhelmed, treatments are desperately needed. So rather than coming up with compounds from scratch that may take years to develop and test, researchers and public health agencies are looking to repurpose drugs already approved for other diseases and known to be largely safe.
They’re also looking at unapproved drugs that have performed well in animal studies with the other two deadly coronaviruses, which cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
Read More →
Science
Could any of these drugs hold the key to saving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients from serious harm or death? On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a large global trial, called SOLIDARITY, to find out whether any can treat infections with the new coronavirus for the dangerous respiratory disease.
It’s an unprecedented effort—an all-out, coordinated push to collect robust scientific data rapidly during a pandemic. The study, which could include many thousands of patients in dozens of countries, has been designed to be as simple as possible so that even hospitals overwhelmed by an onslaught of COVID-19 patients can participate.
With about 15% of COVID-19 patients suffering from severe disease and hospitals being overwhelmed, treatments are desperately needed. So rather than coming up with compounds from scratch that may take years to develop and test, researchers and public health agencies are looking to repurpose drugs already approved for other diseases and known to be largely safe.
They’re also looking at unapproved drugs that have performed well in animal studies with the other two deadly coronaviruses, which cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
Read More →
By Kai Kupferschmidt and Jon Cohen | 22 Mar 2020
RELATED TOPICS:
New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority
World /
1 day ago
At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign
Inspire /
1 day ago
Gov. Newsom Appoints Judges for Fresno, Merced Counties
Local /
2 days ago
Israel Briefs US on Evacuation Plan for Palestinians Ahead of Planned Rafah Assault
World /
2 days ago
Canadian Police Make 3 Arrests in Sikh Separatist’s Slaying That Sparked a Spat with India
World /
2 days ago
Three Arrested for Trespassing, Posting Flyers at Fresno Synagogue and Church
Crime /
2 days ago
After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?
After Jerry Brown became governor of California for the first time nearly a half-century ago, he declared that the state had entered “an era...
Opinion /
3 hours ago
Categories
Latest
Videos
Opinion /
3 hours ago
After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?
Politics /
1 day ago
Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump
World /
1 day ago
New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority
Inspire /
1 day ago
At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign
Local /
2 days ago