An Overview of Current Clinical Trials of Agents for the Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19 in the United States

Kenneth Hannan

doi:10.18297/jri/vol4/iss1/49

Abstract

Introduction: Given the rapid worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the attendant risks for severe complications and mortality, numerous clinical trials for its treatment and prevention have been generated in a short period. This report focuses on the categories of the wide spectrum of agents being studied in the United States and the intensity of effort involved with each so that clinicians may consider whether suggesting enrollment may be appropriate for their patients. Methods: A search was completed of the ClinicalTrials.gov database on May 28, 2020, for all such trials underway as of that date in the US. A total 190 trials were identified; of these, 151 trials that included 83 distinct agents met the specified delimiting criteria. The salient features of each, including medication class, the total number of trials involving either treatment or ongoing prevention strategies, and the total patient enrollment, were captured in a summary table. Comprehensive descriptors of all 190 trials are made available in an appendix. Results: The antimalarial agent hydroxychloroquine was the most frequently studied single agent by both number of trials and number of subjects involved. Antivirals were the next largest group, followed by immunomodulators, antibacterials, vaccines, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) antagonists, and convalescent plasma. Of note, repurposed antineoplastic agents, stem cell therapies, steroids, and a diverse range of miscellaneous agents were also included in the list. Conclusions: The agents currently under study for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 include several highly publicized pharmaceuticals as well as a wide array of other experimental medications and novel applications of established drugs. In the absence of an approved vaccine at this time, it is essential that clinicians be aware of the range of trials from which important new therapeutic and prophylactic advances may rapidly emerge.

Highlights

Given the rapid worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the attendant risks for severe complications and mortality, numerous clinical trials for its treatment and prevention have been generated in a short period
[1] In light of the rapid worldwide spread of the virus and its potential for causing severe complications including multi-organ failure and death, numerous clinical trials involving novel investigative agents and drugs currently approved for the treatment of other conditions have appeared in a short period of time
This review is not intended as a detailed analysis on the pharmacology of the medications involved, since a discussion of the wide variety of their actions is beyond the scope of this report and since previous articles have chosen to focus on this topic. [2,3] Rather, the primary intent is to acquaint practitioners with the categories of drugs being studied, the wide variety of agents being assessed, and the relative intensity of effort being directed at studies of different groups of medications as reflected by the number of trials and the number of subjects targeted for enrollment in each study

Summary

Introduction

Given the rapid worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the attendant risks for severe complications and mortality, numerous clinical trials for its treatment and prevention have been generated in a short period. [1] In light of the rapid worldwide spread of the virus and its potential for causing severe complications including multi-organ failure and death, numerous clinical trials involving novel investigative agents and drugs currently approved for the treatment of other conditions have appeared in a short period of time. This brief report provides an overview of those trials registered at the website www. Some of the agents employed abroad are not in use or available here and are unlikely to be familiar or directly relevant to domestic practitioners

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Results

Conclusion