More results from the RECOVERY trial - Hydroxychloroquine:

Among patients hospitalised with COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) did not improve 28-day mortality, duration of hospital stay, or risk of progressing to invasive mechanical ventilation or death

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2022926

1561 patients were randomised to HCQ + usual care
3155 patients were randomised to usual care alone
in the largest randomised trial of HCQ for treatment of COVID

No evidence of benefit of HCQ on any of the pre-specified endpoints.

No evidence of benefit of HCQ in any of the pre-specified subgroups of patients

I have been asked about the effect of HCQ in the 91% of patients with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus).

No evidence of benefit in those patients either:

The WHO SOLIDARITY trial has subsequently announced similar results and has discontinued enroling patients to the HCQ arm of that study: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/04-07-2020-who-discontinues-hydroxychloroquine-and-lopinavir-ritonavir-treatment-arms-for-covid-19

Note: we did not study the use of HCQ for prophylaxis (prevention) or for treatment of patients outside hospital with milder forms of COVID.

Please remember:
- like every drug we study, we hoped it would work
- like every drug we study, we couldn't be sure it would work
- like every drug we study, we did the trial to find out

Now we know the answer in hospitalised pts
- HCQ does not work

Disappointing but important

The RECOVERY trial has now answered 3 questions for hospitalised COVID pts:
- HCQ is not effective
- Lopinavir is not effective
- Dexamethasone reduces mortality for patients on oxygen or mechanical ventilators

All 3 results have changed medical practice & benefited patients

We push on with the study of 4 further treatments. Same rationale - we think they might work, we need to know if they do work, how well, & for whom:
- azithromycin
- tocilizumab
- convalescent plasma
- REGN-COV2 monoclonal neutralising antibodies

Answer to follow.

And as ever: Huge thanks to absolutely everyone involved - funders, researchers, data scientists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, across the whole UK.

But most of all thanks to the amazing & ongoing contribution of the more than 13,000 patients who have taken part in RECOVERY.

Credits: @ukri @NIHRresearch @OxfordBRC @HDR_UK @NHSDigital @DHSCgovuk @NHSEngland @bdi_oxford @NDMOxford @Oxford_NDPH @PeterHorby @RichardHaynes3 and countless others.

There is a full list of >3,000 collaborators, contributors, funders & supporting organizations in the Appendix. Thank you

Team science - bringing clinical trials to the bedside in a shared effort to find effective treatments for future patients with COVID
https://www.nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1056/NEJMoa2022926/suppl_file/nejmoa2022926_appendix.pdf