The National Institutes of Health said Saturday that it had stopped a clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug that President Trump promoted to treat and prevent the coronavirus, because it was unlikely to benefit patients.
The halting of the trial, which had aimed to enroll more than 500 patients, is the latest evidence that scientists are increasingly concluding that hydroxychloroquine has disappointed early hopes for it.
“In effect, the drug didn’t work,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He said the medical community had been closely watching this trial because it was federally funded, placebo-controlled and run by respected investigators. “I think we can put this drug aside and now devote our attention to other potential treatments.”
Mr. Trump had called the drug a “game changer” and took it himself in hopes of protecting himself from infection with the coronavirus. Drugmakers donated millions of doses to the federal stockpile, which distributed them to hospitals around the country, who administered the drug to severely ill patients because they had few other options.
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration revoked the emergency authorization it had granted to hospitals to give hydroxychloroquine and a related drug, chloroquine, to patients. The agency said that the drugs were unlikely to be effective and could carry potential risks.
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The halting of the trial, which had aimed to enroll more than 500 patients, is the latest evidence that scientists are increasingly concluding that hydroxychloroquine has disappointed early hopes for it.
“In effect, the drug didn’t work,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He said the medical community had been closely watching this trial because it was federally funded, placebo-controlled and run by respected investigators. “I think we can put this drug aside and now devote our attention to other potential treatments.”
Mr. Trump had called the drug a “game changer” and took it himself in hopes of protecting himself from infection with the coronavirus. Drugmakers donated millions of doses to the federal stockpile, which distributed them to hospitals around the country, who administered the drug to severely ill patients because they had few other options.
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration revoked the emergency authorization it had granted to hospitals to give hydroxychloroquine and a related drug, chloroquine, to patients. The agency said that the drugs were unlikely to be effective and could carry potential risks.
Federal Agency Halts Studies of Hydroxychloroquine, Drug Trump Promoted (Published 2020)
The National Institutes of Health decided to stop one trial because the drug was unlikely to benefit patients, and another because not enough people enrolled.
cc @Okiya
