Son Research Center begins a Canadian clinical study on Monday, and is trying to recruit 6,000 participants.
“Our hope is to save lives,” D said in an interview with The Canadian Press.r Jean-Claude Tardif, director of the ICM research center and professor of medicine at the University of Montreal.
Quebec researchers want to study the phenomenon of “major inflammatory storm” of the lungs, present in adults suffering from severe complications related to COVID-19.
They will therefore test the effectiveness of a drug – colchicine, an oral tablet already known and used for other diseases such as gout and pericarditis – for COVID-19.
This powerful anti-inflammatory is inexpensive and easy to make.
The idea is to see if it can reduce the risk of lung complications.
The research track
The study, named COLCORONA, will be coordinated by the Montreal Clinical Trials Coordination Center and funded by the Government of Quebec, with the support of Pharmascience and CGI.
It will take 9 to 12 months to get a vaccine that can prevent the disease, said Dr Late. “There, what we need is therapy that can prevent complications.”
The researcher explained that there was a common point between the Spanish flu epidemic – which wreaked havoc in 1918 – and the current pandemic: infected children do not suffer from severe complications like adults.
“It seems that children have a mechanism that allows them to put the brakes on the inflammatory response.”
The researchers also found that in an animal study to test a treatment for influenza, blocking the inflammatory response allowed them to live longer.
Putting all this information together, the researchers are using their clinical trials to study the inflammatory reaction that attacks the lungs.
To be eligible, participants must be 40 years of age or older, have been tested positive for COVID-19, not be hospitalized, and be willing to take the drug or placebo daily for 30 days, as well as undergo two followed by telephone or videoconference.
They will be followed for a period of 30 days.
The recruitment challenge is daunting: at this time, there are approximately 1,430 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, and not all of them are eligible for the clinical study.
Call to citizens
But according to the Dr Late, the number of real cases is much higher, and has simply not yet been detected.
“The faster we are going to recruit, the more we will have an answer for the sick and the government,” he said, calling on citizens to volunteer.
The first results should be available a few days after the end of the study, says the Heart Institute.
“We hope to provide an answer within three months,” added the researcher. It could even be faster. ”
As a sign of the urgency of the situation and the effectiveness of the system, the research protocol was approved by Health Canada in 24 hours: “it’s unheard of,” commented the doctor.
People who have received a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 and are interested in participating in the clinical study are invited to speak to their health care professional or to call 1 877 536-6837.
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