The World Health Organisation has announced that a regimen of remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon regimens has no effect on mortality or determine the number of days a patient would spend in hospital.
According to the WHO, the discovery was the result of a recent Solidarity Therapeutics Trial conducted to study the effectiveness of the drugs.
The study, which spans more than 30 countries, looked at the effects of these drugs on overall mortality, initiation of ventilation, and duration of hospital stay in hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
The WHO, however, noted that other uses of the drugs, for example in the treatment of patients in the community or for prevention, would have to be examined using different trials.
“The progress achieved by the Solidarity Therapeutics Trial shows that large international trials are possible, even during a pandemic, and offer the promise of quickly and reliably answering critical public health questions concerning therapeutics,” WHO said.
The results of the trial are under review for publication in a medical journal-medRxiv.
The study was conducted in 405 hospitals in 30 countries. 11,266 adults were randomized, with 2,750 allocated Remdesivir, 954 Hydroxychloroquine, 1,411 Lopinavir, 651 Interferon plus Lopinavir, 1412 only Interferon, and 4,088 no study drug.
“Compliance was 94-96 per cent midway through treatment, with 2-6 per cent crossover. 1,253 deaths were reported (at median day 8, IQR 4-14). Kaplan-Meier 28-day mortality was 12 per cent (39 per cent if already ventilated at randomization, 10 per cent otherwise).
“Death rate ratios (with 95 per cent CIs and numbers dead/randomized, each drug vs its control) were: Remdesivir RR=0.95 (0.81-1.11, p=0.50; 301/2743 active vs 303/2708 control), Hydroxychloroquine RR=1.19 (0.89-1.59, p=0.23; 104/947 vs 84/906), Lopinavir RR=1.00 (0.79-1.25, p=0.97; 148/1399 vs 146/1372) and Interferon RR=1.16 (0.96-1.39, p=0.11; 243/2050 vs 216/2050).
“No study drug definitely reduced mortality (in unventilated patients or any other subgroup of entry characteristics), initiation of ventilation or hospitalisation duration,” the result of the study showed.
The WHO, however, noted that the global platform of the Solidarity Trial is ready to rapidly evaluate promising new treatment options, with nearly 500 hospitals open as trial sites.
“Newer antiviral drugs, immunomodulators and anti-SARS COV-2 monoclonal antibodies are now being considered for evaluation,” it said.
