The molecule that would lower the viral load in newly infected people will be tested from today in 346 patients.
- The clinical trials will take place in five centers in Hauts-de-France, in Senlis, Maubeuge, Château-Thierry and Lille.
- Patients will need to have a recent positive test, be over 50, have at least one symptom and not have been vaccinated.
From today, researchers from the Pasteur Institute in Lille and its partner, the biotech Apteeus, will launch clinical trials for their drug. The molecule in question, Clofoctol, had been identified almost a year ago as having great efficacy in reducing the viral load in newly infected patients.
Five centers and 346 patients
The authorization came this Thursday from the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) and the Committee for the Protection of Persons (CPP). The clinical trial will aim to “test this experimental treatment in the early care of Covid patients, double-blind against placebo”, underlines the Pasteur Institute of Lille, adding that “all the logistics are ready”. This medicine will be taken in the form of a suppository twice a day for five days.
The clinical trials, which will include 346 patients, begin this Monday and will take place in five centers in Hauts-de-France, in Senlis, Maubeuge, Château-Thierry and Lille. Later, other centers will follow but for the time being their number and their location in the region have not been specified. The conditions for integration into the clinical trial for patients are to have “a recent positive test, being over 50, having at least one symptom and not having been vaccinated”, advances the institute.
Home follow-up
The patients will not be hospitalized, despite the fact that the administration of the drug is done in the different medical centers. Follow-up will be provided at home thanks to the collaboration of general practitioners. In addition, the Pasteur Institute in Lille has launched a call for general practitioners in Hauts-de-France who would like to participate to send an email to medecin.therapide@pasteur-lille.fr.
The drug in question is an antiviral that works by altering the replication of the virus in cells. The first results showed great effectiveness. In addition, this molecule has already been on the market so the risks are known and the undesirable side effects very low.
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