NIH to test repurposing up to 7 drugs to treat COVID-19 symptoms at home

The Accelerating COVID 19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) initiative will enroll up to 13,500 adults aged 30 and over in a Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate whether certain drugs approved for other conditions safely and effectively treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health announced yesterday. 

With funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, the ACTIV-6 trial will test up to seven drugs administered orally or by inhaler at home, with a focus on enrolling patients in minority, rural and other communities significantly affected by COVID-19. 

“While we’re doing a good job with treating hospitalized patients with severe disease, we don’t currently have an approved medication that can be self-administered to ease symptoms of people suffering from mild disease at home, and reduce the chance of their needing hospitalization,” said NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D. “ACTIV-6 will evaluate whether certain drugs showing promise in small trials can pass the rigor of a larger trial.”