Three Phoenix-area hospitals are beginning a clinical trial, combining two different drugs, to hopefully treat coronavirus.
HonorHealth announced Tuesday that it has successfully enrolled a combination of atovaquone and azithromycin for patients with moderate-to-severe coronavirus infections.
It is one of 10 clinical trials that the HonorHealth Research Institute is working on related to COVID-19.
The combination reportedly has less of a risk of cardiac side effects compared to other potential treatments.
Twenty-five patients will be enrolled in the study, which welcomed its first patient on April 29.
“The combination of atovaquone and azithromycin has been previously studied in other infectious conditions and we hope that if proven active, it may represent a well-tolerated option for patients infected with COVID-19,” said Michael S. Gordon, M.D., Medical Director of HonorHealth Research Institute and co-Principal Investigator of the trial, in a press release.
“This is the first trial in the United States, and the first trial made available to patients in Arizona, that involves this specific combination of therapies,” said Kiran Avancha, Ph.D., R.Ph., chief operating officer, HonorHealth Research Institute. “We are proud to be supporting this ‘home grown’ innovation here at the Institute, where we have been working with other front line providers, scientists and experts across the globe to bring several COVID-19 trials up in record time to support our patients and providers amid this pandemic.”
HonorHealth says “the study will analyze interval nasopharyngeal swabs during treatment to quantitate COVID-19 viral load as well as assess additional clinical and laboratory determinants to determine response to therapy.” A partnership with TGen’s Pathogen and Microbiome Division will also give more understanding.
You can get more information by emailing the HonorHealth Research Institute at covidtrials@honorhealth.com. More information about the clinical trial, as well as others, can be found online.
