Clinical research

World Health Organization resumes hydroxychloroquine arm of COVID-19 SOLIDARITY trial

Data monitoring experts have given the World Health Organization the all-clear to continue using hydroxychloroquine in its clinical trials to find a treatment for COVID-19, after concerns were raised about the drug’s safety.…

Heparin and zilucoplan added to COVID-19 ACCORD trials platform

The National Institute for Health Research has confirmed that two more drugs will be included in a clinical trial scheme designed to speed up development of new medicines for patients hospitalised with COVID-19.…

‘We are at the forefront of COVID-19 research’ — a day in the life of a clinical trials pharmacist

With COVID-19 becoming the number one priority for researchers around the globe, Parham Hashemi describes his role in overseeing the new trials being launched during the pandemic.…

Why we need to talk about sex and clinical trials

The under-representation of women in clinical trials is slowly being addressed, but we cannot move towards truly personalised healthcare unless we have an equal balance of the sexes in all new medicine trials.…

Targeting COVID-19: the drugs being fast-tracked through clinical trials and how they work

The NHS is rapidly enrolling patients into studies as part of a focused international effort to find medicines that will interfere with viral replication or help modulate the immune system response.…

Serology testing for COVID-19 is the way forward, but we could face a long wait

While news of imminent serology testing is incredibly encouraging, we must be pragmatic about how quickly it can be made available to the general public.…

Why we should be wary of ‘game-changing’ claims about COVID-19 treatments

Dozens of drug candidates are being trialled for both prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19, but it is too early to recommend any of them for routine clinical use.…

The hunt for an effective treatment for COVID-19

As researchers around the globe drop everything to find a treatment for COVID-19, we look at the likely frontrunners for managing this deadly disease.…

Going against type: the new class of cancer therapies targeting mutations rather than tissues

‘Tumour agnostic’ drugs offer a more effective and tolerable therapy for a wide range of people with cancer, so why has the NHS rejected its first one?…

Trial confirms antiepileptic effects of fenfluramine in children with Dravet syndrome

Children with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that is resistant to treatment, experience fewer seizures when treated with fenfluramine, a phase III trial published in The Lancet has confirmed.…