Institute halts COVID-19 clinical trial for hydroxychloroquine due to low enrollment
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has shut down a clinical trial to see if a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin can prevent hospitalization and death due to COVID-19.
The trial, launched last month, aimed to enroll 2,000 outpatient participants nationwide — including subjects recruited through the University of Washington School of Medicine. But on Saturday NIAID, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, said that only 20 participants had been enrolled, and that such a rate was deemed “inadequate for the trial to meet its objectives in a timely matter.” Another NIH clinical trial was halted as well.
Last week, UW Medicine said it was having a hard time with enrollment due to negative publicity about hydroxychloroquine. UW researchers are taking part in at least two other trials involving the drug, which has previously been approved for treating malaria and autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Also last week, the FDA revoked emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and a related drug, chloroquine. And the World Health Organization said it would no longer include hydroxychloroquine in its multi-drug trial to find an effective treatment for COVID-19. WHO said its decision was made based on preliminary results from its own trial and the British RECOVERY trial, suggesting that the drug did not reduce COVID-19 mortality.
