Covid-19 Medical trials in Africa begin with Kenya

The Kenyan Medical Research Institute (Kemri) has started a clinical study to test whether two available drugs in the market can treat Covid-19 patients with mild and moderate symptoms in Africa.

The trial, ANTICOV, which is being conducted at 19 locations in 13 African countries, will begin testing the HIV antiretroviral combination lopinavir / ritonavir and the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine against a control arm. numerous African countries.

The trial, which is the largest in Africa, is aimed at responding to the urgent need to identify medications that can be used to treat mild and moderate cases of Covid-19 early and prevent nails in the hospitalization that are fragile and already congested health systems in Africa.

ANTICOV is an open, randomized, comparative ‘adaptive platform trial’ that measures the safety and efficacy of treatments in 2000 to 3000 mild to moderate Covid-19 patients in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Sudan and Uganda.

Large-scale death rate

“It is gratifying to see that so many African countries are working together to provide much-needed answers to our unique Covid-19 patient needs,” said Dr Borna Nyaoke-Anoke, senior clinical project manager of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases (DNDi) initiative, ‘ an international non-profit drug research and development group with extensive partnerships in Africa.

“Africa has mostly avoided the large-scale death toll in other countries, but with the closure and reopening of borders, we need to be prepared. We need research here in Africa to inform policies and testing and treatment strategies. can offer the best options to people with Covid-19. ‘

African context

Dr John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, said that major clinical trials in Africa are needed for Covid-19 to answer research questions specific to an African context.

“African countries have so far had an impressive response to Covid-19. Now is the time to prepare for future waves of the disease.

“We welcome the ANTICOV trial, led by African doctors, as it will help answer one of our most pressing questions: Can we treat Covid-19 people with limited intensive care facilities in Africa in the past and prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed? word? “

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research provides the largest funding for the ANTICOV consortium.

The Kenyan government has already allowed hospitals to use Remdesivir, which is accelerating the recovery of seriously ill Covid-19 patients, despite the global health body questioning its effectiveness. The Pharmacy and Poisoning Council has authorized five Kenyan companies to import the drug from June and supply it to selected hospitals

The drug was approved for emergency use in Covid-19 patients two months ago.

Kenya is also participating in a clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, a candidate for Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca.

The trial, conducted at Kemri, the Kilifi Wellcome Trust research program, will evaluate whether the vaccine is safe, effective and elicits good immune responses from 40 frontline workers in Kilifi County.

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