COVID-19: multi-arm, multi stage adaptive clinical trial (CoV-MAMS)

The coronavirus epidemic is a global health emergency. The infection can, in a minority of cases, cause serious lung disease requiring hospital-care and even death. Whilst general hospital care can improve patients’ recovery, there are currently no specific medicines for this infection. The best way to prove that medicines are effective and safe is through clinical trials which compare the new medicine against normal care. Clinical trials of two of the most promising medicines have already enrolled patients in China. There are, however, many other medicines that have been proposed for the treatment of patients with the novel coronavirus. We will start a new trial in the UK to test up to four additional medicines. Patients hospitalised with confirmed coronavirus infection will be invited to join the trial and we will assess whether the new medicines are safe and can improve patients’ recovery. We will use a flexible design that allows us to add new medicines as they become available. The trial will start by testing two medicine, a drug that may slow down the replication of the virus and a drug that may reduce the inflammation associated with the infection. Other medicines will be added when they become available.