A group of scientists, physicians, funders and policy makers from over 70 institutions across 30 countries have launched an international coalition to respond to COVID-19 in resource-poor settings. The coalition will create a network of ongoing research on COVID-19 so that research efforts are not duplicated.
The COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition aims to accelerate the much needed COVID-19 research in those geographies where the virus could wreak havoc on already fragile health systems and cause the greatest health impact on vulnerable populations.
Members published a comment in The Lancet on Thursday pointing out that academic response to the pandemic had been vigorous, but inadequate for low- and middle-income countries. The distribution of trials so far has been in China and South Korea, while more are planned in the higher income countries of Europe and in the USA.
In broader terms, it is a coalition where members are (individuals and institutions) working to fast-track research that will provide evidence on COVID-19 prevention, diagnosis and case management in resource-limited settings. This is the evidence needed to guide policies and practices.
Coalition members will work together to map what they could contribute to the research agenda and to form the most effective partnerships.
The coalition will promote open-sharing of research knowledge and data, and advocate for equitable and affordable access to these interventions.
Collaboration in international research is needed to support African, Latin American, Eastern European, and certain Asian countries to respond effectively to the worsening pandemic and speed up research adapted to resource-limited settings.
The Indian signatories to the coalition are Translational Health Science and Technology Institute of India and the Christian Medical College, Vellore.
The coalition brings together an array of health experts, including public-sector research institutes, ministries of health, academia, not-for-profit research and development organisations, NGOs, international organisations, and funders who are committed to finding COVID-19 solutions for resource-poor settings.
One important research response to COVID-19 has been launched already-- the World Health Organization (WHO)-led SOLIDARITY trial, an unprecedented global effort. This research hopes to plug the gap for the SOLIDAITY trial wherein a few of the almost 600 COVID-19 clinical trials registered are from resource-poor settings.
The SOLIDARITY clinical trial is an important study that will evaluate the effectiveness of four possible drugs or drug combinations to treat COVID-19 in thousands of patients around the world in comparison with the standard of care. However, many more research questions remain to be answered as quickly as possible. Coalition members may adapt open access research protocols already developed for COVID-19 studies, such as the SOLIDARITY trial or the COPCOV clinical trial (led by the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit) or other trials in development or they may develop new protocols according to their research priorities.
The scale of the challenge is clearly beyond the scope of any single organisation. The coalition will facilitate a coordinated approach, so that all data from all regions can be collected in a similar fashion, pooled and shared in real-time. This will help countries and the WHO to make rapid evidence-based decisions on policies and practice.
“We welcome the launch of this coalition, which takes advantage of existing multinational and multidisciplinary expertise in running clinical trials in resource-poor settings, and will help the World Health Organization (WHO) in its coordinating role in the global response to COVID-19,”said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World Health Organization. “Although the epicentre is today elsewhere, we must prepare now for the consequences of this pandemic in more resource-constrained settings or we stand to lose many more lives.”
Members of the coalition have called for specific commitments to ensure access, so that effective new treatments are readily made available as soon as possible in resource-poor settings.
So far, more than 70 organisations have joined the coalition, with a call made to other institutes ready to contribute existing capacity to join.
