Doris Obinna
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has accepted the recommendation from the Solidarity Trial’s International Steering Committee to discontinue the trial for hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir arms, HIV/AIDS medications because it failed to reduce COVID-19 mortality.
The Solidarity Trial was established by WHO to find an effective COVID-19 treatment for hospitalized patients.
WHO on Saturday announced that it was ending the trial of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine widely touted by American President, Donald Trump, as a miracle drug despite a new study by Henry Ford Health System finding it made that coronavirus patients treated early with hydroxychloroquine were 50 per cent less likely to die.
In a press release by WHO, it stated that, the International Steering Committee formulated the recommendation in light of the evidence for hydroxychloroquine vs standard-of-care and for lopinavir/ritonavir vs standard-of-care from the Solidarity trial interim results, and from a review of the evidence from all trials presented at the July 1-2 WHO Summit on COVID-19 research and innovation.
It reads: “These interim trial results show that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalized COVID-19 patients when compared to standard of care. Solidarity trial investigators will interrupt the trials with immediate effect.
“For each of the drugs, the interim results do not provide solid evidence of increased mortality. There were, however, some associated safety signals in the clinical laboratory findings of the add-on Discovery trial, a participant in the Solidarity trial. These will also be reported in the peer-reviewed publication.
“This decision applies only to the conduct of the Solidarity trial in hospitalized patients and does not affect the possible evaluation in other studies of hydroxychloroquine or lopinavir/ritonavir in non-hospitalized patients or as pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19. The interim Solidarity results are now being readied for peer-reviewed publication.”
Meanwhile, the National Institute of Health said the drug was unlikely to help hospitalized patients and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) never formally approved it.