The fragmented COVID-19 therapeutics research landscape: a living systematic review of clinical trial registrations evaluating priority pharmacological interventions.

Alistair R.D. McLean; Sumayyah Rashan; Lien Tran; Lorenzo Arena; AbdulAzeez Lawal; Brittany Maguire; Sandra Adele; Emilia Antonio; Matthew Brack; Fiona Caldwell; Verena I. Carrara; Reema Charles; Barbara Wanjiru Citarella; Terrence Epie; Vitalis Fambombi Feteh; Kalynn Kennon; Gerald Jamberi Makuka; Roland Cheofor Ngu; Amen-Patrick Nwosu; Sopuruchukwu Obiesie; Chinwe Ogbonnaa-Njoku; Parvesh Paul; Caitlin Richmond; Sauman Singh-Phulgenda; Samantha Strudwick; Carina S.B. Tyrrell; Kasia Stepniewska; Nathalie Strub‐Wourgaft; Sir Nicholas White; Philippe J. Guérin

doi:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17284.1

Verified authors • Institutional access • DOI aware

50,000+ researchers120,000+ datasets90% satisfaction

Preprint

English

2022

The fragmented COVID-19 therapeutics research landscape: a living systematic review of clinical trial registrations evaluating priority pharmacological interventions.

0 Datasets

0 Files

English

2022

Wellcome Open Research

Vol 7

DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17284.1

Get instant academic access to this publication’s datasets.

Create free account How it works

Frequently asked questions

Is access really free for academics and students?

Yes. After verification, you can browse and download datasets at no cost. Some premium assets may require author approval.

How is my data protected?

Files are stored on encrypted storage. Access is restricted to verified users and all downloads are logged.

Can I request additional materials?

Yes, message the author after sign-up to request supplementary files or replication code.

Advance your research today

Join 50,000+ researchers worldwide. Get instant access to peer-reviewed datasets, advanced analytics, and global collaboration tools.

Get free academic access Learn more

✓ Immediate verification • ✓ Free institutional access • ✓ Global collaboration

Background: Many available medicines have been evaluated as potential repurposed treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We summarise the registered study landscape for 32 priority pharmacological treatments identified following consultation with external experts of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition. Methods: All eligible trial registry records identified by systematic searches of the World Health Organisation International Clinical Trials Registry Platform as of 26th May 2021 were reviewed and extracted. A descriptive summary of study characteristics was performed. Results: We identified 1,314 registered studies that included at least one of the 32 priority pharmacological interventions. The majority (1,043, 79%) were randomised controlled trials (RCTs). The sample size of the RCTs identified was typically small (median (25th, 75th percentile) sample size = 140 patients (70, 383)), i.e. individually powered only to show very large effects. The most extensively evaluated medicine was hydroxychloroquine (418 registered studies). Other widely studied interventions were convalescent plasma (n=208), ritonavir (n=189) usually combined with lopinavir (n=181), and azithromycin (n=147). Very few RCTs planned to recruit participants in low-income countries (n=14; 1.3%). A minority of studies (348, 26%) indicated a willingness to share individual participant data. The living systematic review data are available at https://iddo.cognitive.city Conclusions: There are many registered studies planning to evaluate available medicines as potential repurposed treatments of COVID-19. Most of these planned studies are small, and therefore substantially underpowered for most relevant endpoints. Very few are large enough to have any chance of providing enough convincing evidence to change policies and practices. The sharing of individual participant data (IPD) from these studies would allow pooled IPD meta-analyses which could generate definitive conclusions, but most registered studies did not indicate that they were willing to share their data.

The fragmented COVID-19 therapeutics research landscape: a living systematic review of clinical trial registrations evaluating priority pharmacological interventions.

Frequently asked questions

Is access really free for academics and students?

How is my data protected?

Can I request additional materials?

Advance your research today

The fragmented COVID-19 therapeutics research landscape: a living systematic review of clinical trial registrations evaluating priority pharmacological interventions.

Frequently asked questions

Is access really free for academics and students?

How is my data protected?

Can I request additional materials?

Advance your research today

Access Research Data

This PDF is not available in different languages.

Sir Nicholas White

Abstract

How to cite this publication

Related publications

Why join Raw Data Library?

Quality

Control

Free for Academia

Publication Details

Join Research Community