SCTU to work with Liverpool-led initiative to rapidly identify COVID-19 ‘game changing’ drugs

Southampton Clinical Trial Unit are delighted to be collaborating on the AGILE COVID-19 Drug Testing Initiative. This trial platform is led by the University of Liverpool and involves researchers from the Liverpool Tropical School of Medicine and NIHR Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility alongside the SCTU. It has been established to enable the rapid clinical evaluation of potential COVID-19 therapeutics.

Saye Khoo, Professor of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Liverpool, said: “AGILE uses the most modern and innovative statistical methods which allows for multiple drugs to be tested in parallel, and to remove or add treatments faster than ever before, based on results of safety and efficacy. This has the advantage of testing more treatments, more quickly, to find out which new drugs are suitable for large-scale testing in COVID-19 patients. This is similar to ‘fast track’ programmes for treatment of cancer patients that are approved by the UK regulator.”

Professor Gareth Griffiths, Director of the SCTU, said: “I am delighted to be collaborating with our Liverpool colleagues in this nationally important area of COVID-19 research. As a UKCRC registered unit, supported by CRUK (core funded CRUK Trials unit) and NIHR we are able to bring our expertise and energy to deliver the initiative.”

An short infographic movie explaining the background to the AGILE Initiative can be found on the SCTU Youtube channel SWshMNv18pE