European COVID-19 experts have begun clinical trials to create a vaccine that could help defeat the coronavirus outbreak.
Europe is now considered the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak by the World Health Organization (WHO), with Italy dying more often than even China, where the disease was first detected. More than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Italy, Spain and Germany alone, with the virus spreading rapidly across the continent.
Currently, European researchers have begun clinical trials of a vaccine against the virus, involving more than 3,200 people.
Research organization Inserm has announced a trial called Discovery, which is being led by Florence Ader, an infectious disease specialist at the Croix-Rousse Hospital, Lyon University Hospital, and an infectious disease researcher at the CIRI International Research Center.
The study hopes to explore the efficacy and safety of four experimental therapeutic strategies that experts have found potentially effective against COVID-19. Here is what Dr. Ader reported:
'We analyzed data from the scientific literature on SARS and MERS coronaviruses and the first publications on SARS-COV2 from China to compile a list of tested antiviral molecules: remdesivir, lopinavir and ritonavir in combination, the latter is administered with or without interferon beta and hydroxychloroquine or without it '.
“The list of these potential drugs is also based on a subset of experimental therapies that have been classified as top priorities by the World Health Organization (WHO).”
“The great strength of this challenge lies in its 'adaptive' nature. This means that ineffective experimental therapies can very quickly be discarded and replaced by other molecules that emerge from research efforts. Therefore, we will be able to make changes in real time, in accordance with the latest scientific evidence, in order to find the best treatment for our patients. '
The study will include 3,200 people who have been affected by the virus in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Scientists are confident that this test is designed to be pragmatic and adaptive. Its purpose is to analyze the effectiveness and safety of treatment options for patients within a limited period of time. It is a decidedly proactive approach to developing remedies for the disease.
