Current updates on the European and WHO registered clinical trials of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

• Authors: Henu Kumar Verma, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Neha Merchant, Emory University; Manish K Verma, G.S.V.M Medical College; Cansu İlke Kuru, Ege Üniversitesi; Anand Narayan Singh, G.S.V.M Medical College; Fulden Ulucan, Ege Üniversitesi; Poonam Verma, IFTM University; Antaripa Bhattacharya, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples; LVKS Bhaskar, Guru Ghasidas University
• Journal Title: Biomedical Journal
• Volume: Volume 43, Number 5
• Publisher: Elsevier B.V. | 2020-10-01, Pages 424-433
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.bj.2020.07.008
• Subjects: Chemistry, Biochemistry; Health Sciences, Oncology
• Keywords: COVID-19; Clinical trials; Corona pandemic; Therapeutic; Vaccination; COVID-19; Clinical Trials as Topic; Europe; Humans; SARS-CoV-2; World Health Organization; COVID-19 Drug Treatment

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major public health concern currently. To date, there are no approved antiviral drugs or vaccines against this transmissible disease. This report sheds light on available information for a better understanding of clinical trials and pharmacotherapy related to COVID-19. MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus databases, Web of Science, WHO, and EU clinical trial sites were used to perform comparative analysis. Information was collected on the use of therapeutic agents for human therapy in patients with COVID-19 up to May 2020. We have extracted data from 60 clinical trials. Amongst these trials, 34 were from the European Union database of clinical trials and 26 from the National Institute of Health. The data selection procedure includes active, completed, and recruitment in progress status. Most of the clinical trials are ongoing and hence, there is a lack of precise results for the treatment.There is a lack of high-quality clinical evidence. The protocol to be developed requires large randomized clinical trials with a combination of available drugs and prospective therapies. We propose the usage of a large number of cases and different statistical analyses to conduct systematic clinical trials. This could provide comprehensive information about the clinical trial and potential therapeutic progress.