Comparison Of Therapeutics for Hospitalized Patients Infected With SARS-CoV-2 In a Pragmatic aDaptive randoMizED Clinical Trial During the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVID MED Trial)

Although a number of therapeutics have been utilized by clinicians to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19, none were systematically evaluated in clinical trials at the time of the outset of this RCT (COVID MED). Since then, dexamethasone has been shown to decrease mortality and remdesivir to possibly decrease hospital LOS in the RECOVERY and ACTT-II trials and others. The initial iteration of this protocol included 4 arms, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, losartan, and placebo based on suggestive efficacy and safety and widespread empiric use. The current iteration of COVID MED includes two arms, standard of care and losartan vs. standard of care and placebo.

Hydroxychloroquine was initially included in COVID MED based on suggestive in vitro, animal preclinical, and early RCT data, and widespread empiric use in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Lopinavir/ritonavir, an antiretroviral medication, showed equivocal and possibly positive efficacy and safety in an early pandemic Chinese RCT published in NEJM. After public release and eventual publication of the negative results for hydroxychloroquine and then lopinavir/ritonavir initially from the RECOVERY trial and then others, enrollment in COVID MED in these two arms was halted and then discontinued permanently. Data from subjects enrolled in the hydroxychloroquine arm are being incorporated into a pooled analysis of RCTs by the Trial Innovation Network.

Losartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), has theoretical benefit as SARSCoV-2 appears to bind to lung tissue via Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptors which might be inhibited by ARBs; other potential benefits have been hypothesized as well. Since the initial iteration of this protocol, observational studies have shown that patients already taking ACEi/ARB medications do not have adverse outcome when these drugs are continued in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. These data have reinforced continuation of the losartan vs. placebo arms of this RCT which are ongoing.

This pragmatic adaptive trial continues to compare outcome in hospitalized COVID-19 patients treated with standard of care and losartan vs. standard of care and placebo.