Northamptonshire Covid-19 patients join £20m trial using drug President Trump hailed as a "game-changer"

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Oxford scientists take sufferers from six county practices in bid to solve of how to treat coronavirus

Covid-19 patients in Northamptonshire are taking part in £20million trials of a drug touted by President Trump as a 'game-changer' in the battle beat the deadly bug.

President Trump ditched promoting hydroxychloroquine — a long-established remedy used to treat anti-immune conditions such as malaria and arthritis — after trials of the drug failed to make any breakthroughs.

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Yet Oxford University scientists believe the help of patients from six GP practices in Northampton, Wellingborough, Corby, Rothwell and Desborough can find a treatment to keep coronavirus sufferers out of hospital.

Northamptonshire's patients will be those who are most at risk from serious complications from Covid-19 — over-50s with underlying health conditions — with the aim of finding a drug that can help them get better sooner at home without the need for hospital admissions.

Dr Simon Royal, CRN East Midlands specialty lead for primary care research, said: “It is only by conducting research that we can properly understand Covid-19, which will enable us to develop treatments and vaccines for it.

“We need as many people as possible to take part in Covid-19 research and we are incredibly grateful to all patients and healthcare professionals for their commitment to research at this extraordinary time.

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"Many of the American tests seem to have been focused on small samples among those patients who were already in hospital.

Scientists will use Covid-19 patients in Northamptonshire to trial treatments for the virus. Photo: Getty ImagesScientists will use Covid-19 patients in Northamptonshire to trial treatments for the virus. Photo: Getty Images
Scientists will use Covid-19 patients in Northamptonshire to trial treatments for the virus. Photo: Getty Images | Getty

"The feeling in the UK medical community is that this something worth pursuing with a longer, more randomnised study into how effective it could be in allowing patients to be treated at home, taking the pressure off our hospitals.

"Hydroxychloroquine has been around for a long time and used to treat different illnesses. There have been lots of studies into its effectiveness for Covid-19 patients but maybe some smaller and less robust studies have not given us information that has been useful.”

Danes Camp and Rillwood medical centres in Northampton; Lakeside Healthcare in Corby; Albany House Medical Centre in Wellingborough; Rothwell & Desborough Healthcare Group and Moulton Surgery, Northampton are all supporting patients taking part in the study.

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Reports in the US revealed online demand for hydroxychloroquine and its chemical cousin chloroquine spiked by more than 1,000 per cent after President Trump labelled it a "game-changer" in the desperate search for treatments for Covid-19 without providing evidence it worked.

Interest stayed high even after an American couple poisoned themselves by taking a liquid containing chloroquine meant to treat parasites in fish tanks.

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