Three leading scientific institutions have embarked on trials to test whether existing drugs can be used to prevent coronavirus infections, as the accelerator funded by the world’s two largest medical foundations makes its first investments.
The Covid-19 therapeutics accelerator, founded by the Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Mastercard, are giving $20m to clinical trials designed to accelerate the development of drugs to stall the coronavirus pandemic.
Two of the trials will look at hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, generic antimalarials, which have shown promise in early studies on Covid-19 patients and have been hailed by US president Donald Trump as potential game-changers. But scientists have been more wary, because they have yet to be proven in large, randomised controlled trials.
Mark Suzman, chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said the initial investments will bring “rigour” to the study of the potential solutions. “The way forward will be informed by sound science and shared data,” he said.
So far, there are three main types of drugs being tested to see if they work against Covid-19. Antivirals, which stop the virus replicating, anti-inflammatories, which help patients whose immune system goes into overdrive, and antibodies, which boost the immune system.
Instead of looking at patients that are already showing symptoms, two of the trials will see if the drugs can prevent symptoms ever occurring. The University of Washington will conduct a 2,000 person trial looking at whether the drugs can prevent people who have had contact with a Covid-19 patient from developing the disease.
The second trial, by the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, will follow 40,000 healthcare workers in Asia and Europe for a year to see if the drugs can act as a prophylaxis and prevent them from getting Covid-19. The participants will take either hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, or a placebo every day for three months.
The accelerator is also providing $1.73m funding to a third project run by the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. The California-based institution will establish a Coronavirus Immunotherapy Consortium to allow scientists from around the world to compare potential antibodies to the virus to come up with ideal combinations.
Antibody therapies, derived from recovered patients or made artificially, are being used to treat some of the sickest Covid-19 patients but could also protect frontline healthcare workers by boosting their immune systems.
Since the accelerator was launched with $125m this month, it has raised more money, including £40m from the UK government and $25m from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic organisation founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.
The accelerator said more funding is needed to scale up potential therapies. Nick Cammack, Covid-19 therapeutics accelerator lead at Wellcome, said investment in research is “the world’s only exit strategy” from the virus.
“Now is the time to evaluate whether existing drugs will prove to be safe and effective. We urge others to join us in this collective global effort,” he said. “Investing now, at scale . . . is vital if we are to change the course of this pandemic.”
