Randomized, Multi-arm Phase II Trial of Novel Agents for Treatment of High-risk COVID-19 Positive Patients

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease, caused by a novel enveloped RNA beta-coronavirus, also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case of this unprecedented outbreak "pneumonia of unknown etiology" was reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China on December 8th, 2019 and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31st, 2019. WHO declared a COVID-19 global emergency on January 30, 2020, and then categorized the outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. As of April 22, 2020, more than 2,628,894 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and 182,740 people globally have died from COVID-19 since it emerged in China, according to the data from Johns Hopkins University.

While the majority of patients with COVID-19 develop mild or uncomplicated illness, approximately 20-30% of hospitalized patients have required intensive care support and 5% of those have multi-organ failure or shock. The case fatality rate ranges from 1 to 4% and it is higher among those with pre-existing comorbid conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension and cancer. The vast majority of patients present with fever (83-99%), cough (59-82%), fatigue (44-70%), anorexia (40-84%), shortness of breath (31-40%), sputum production (28-33%), myalgias (11-35%). Less than 10% of patients will present with headache, confusion, rhinorrhea, sore throat, hemoptysis, vomiting, or diarrhea. Anosmia or ageusia proceeding the onset of respiratory symptoms has been anecdotally reported.

To date, treatments for COVID-19 in high risks individuals remain experimental and therapeutic strategies to deal with the infection are at best supportive, with prevention aimed at reducing transmission in the community as the best weapon. No proven therapies have been demonstrated to prevent the progression of COVID-19 to severe illness and this is a critical unmet need for high-risk individuals and warrants study. Recently, the Infectious Disease Society of America has made recommendations for the treatment of patients with COVID-19, focusing on inpatient care, and recommending randomized trials where possible as the best step to improve treatment outcomes and to increase our understanding of this coronavirus pandemic. Discoveries in this area may inform clinicians on effective treatment for low-risk individuals who progress to severe illness, as well.