The anti Anti-inflammatory colchicine will be tested as a possible COVID-19 treatment in one of the world’s biggest trials in the latest effort to repurpose existing medicines to fight the pandemic.
The RECOVERY trial, which is the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, will randomly allocate at least 2,500 patients recruited to receive colchicine, which is used as a treatment for gout.
Professor Peter Horby, from the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK, co-Chief Investigator of the RECOVERY trial, said ‘Colchicine is an attractive drug to evaluate in the RECOVERY trial as it is very well understood, inexpensive and widely available. If it works it would be another COVID-19 treatment that could be used immediately worldwide, even in the poorest countries.’
It is anticipated that at least 2500 patients recruited to the RECOVERY trial will be randomly allocated to receive colchicine plus usual standard-of-care, and results will be compared with at least 2500 patients who receive the usual standard-of-care on its own.
The dosage used will be 1000 micrograms for the first treatment, then 500 micrograms every 12 hours for a total of 10 days (or until discharge if sooner). The main outcome the RECOVERY trial will assess is mortality after 28 days. Other outcomes include the impact on hospital stay and the need for ventilation. Depending on recruitment rates, it is likely to be several months before there is enough evidence to conclude whether colchicine has a significant benefit in COVID-19 patients.
Meanwhile the Government has asked the medicine regulator to assess Oxford University and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate for temporary supply, a step towards beginning a roll-out before the end of the year.
“We have formally asked the regulator to assess the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, to understand the data and determine whether it meets rigorous safety standards,” Matt Hancock said in a statement.
“This letter is an important step towards deploying a vaccine as quickly as safely possible.”
