New Antiviral Drugs for Treatment of COVID-19

Summary

Background: In December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 was isolated on Vero E6 and Huh7 cell lines after an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since the basis for pathogenesis of this virus and its proliferation is unclear, there is still no definitive treatment or vaccine against it. Thus, medications used against SARS-CoV-2 are mainly based on their effectiveness on in vitro studies, virtual screenings and records of their effects on earlier strains of coronavirus, SARS and MERS. Therefore, the immediate introduction of potential COVID-19 treatments can be essential and salvaging. Aim: to compare the rate and time of viral clearance in subjects receiving the combination of Nitazoxanide, Ribavirin and Ivermectin vs. those control group (without any intervention). Methods: a sequential clinical trial in this design sample size is not fixed in advance. Instead data will be evaluated as they are collected, and further sampling is will be stopped in accordance with a pre-defined stopping rule as soon as significant results are observed. After "n" (10 subjects in each group) subjects in each group are available an interim analysis will be conducted. A statistical test will be performed to compare the two groups and if the null hypothesis is rejected the trial is terminated; otherwise, the trial continues, another n subjects per group will be recruited, and the statistical test is performed again, including all subjects. If the null is rejected, the trial is terminated, and otherwise it continues with periodic evaluations until a maximum number of interim analyses have been performed, at which point the last statistical test is conducted and the trial is discontinued \[25\]. Outcome: The combination of Nitazoxanide, Ribavirin, Ivermectin and Zinc could be effective in clearance of COVID 19. KEY WOARD: COVID-19; clinical trial; corona virus

Timeline

Start

2020-10

Primary completion

2022-05

Completion

2022-05

Publications

• Results Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, Zhao X, Huang B, Shi W, Lu R, Niu P, Zhan F, Ma X, Wang D, Xu W, Wu G, Gao GF, Tan W; China Novel Coronavirus Investigating and Research Team. A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020 Feb 20;382(8):727-733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. Epub 2020 Jan 24.
• Results Cui J, Li F, Shi ZL. Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2019 Mar;17(3):181-192. doi: 10.1038/s41579-018-0118-9.
• Results Rossignol JF. Nitazoxanide: a first-in-class broad-spectrum antiviral agent. Antiviral Res. 2014 Oct;110:94-103. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.07.014. Epub 2014 Aug 7.
• Results Graci JD, Cameron CE. Mechanisms of action of ribavirin against distinct viruses. Rev Med Virol. 2006 Jan-Feb;16(1):37-48. doi: 10.1002/rmv.483.
• Results Caly L, Druce JD, Catton MG, Jans DA, Wagstaff KM. The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Antiviral Res. 2020 Jun;178:104787. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2020.104787. Epub 2020 Apr 3.

Drugs

Indications