Announcements News SARS-CoV-2 / Covid-19 

CZECRIN supports clinical studies focusing on the treatment of COVID-19

Ilona Trtíková

The CZECRIN research infrastructure (Czech National Node to the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network) offers its support, services and expertise to all research-oriented physicians, with the aim of involving its forces in quick access to initiate national and especially transnational clinical trials. CZECRIN is a part of the European ECRIN-ERIC (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network).

For the purpose of the clinical trials actual information sharing during the fight against coronavirus, the research infrastructure launched a special website https://www.czecrin.cz/covid-19. The main interest of the research infrastructure website is to inform not only the professional, but also the non-expert public, about all ongoing and planned activities towards clinical research, and thus also to inform other research facilities about possible support from CZECRIN.

One of the organizational units of CZECRIN is the NATIONAL CTUs NETWORK composed of representatives of the leading faculty hospitals whose priority is non-commercial clinical research. This research infrastructure is involved in fighting against coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. NATIONAL CTUs NETWORK has been mapping the interest of healthcare facilities participating in the individual clinical trials focusing on the treatment of patients with the COVID-19 disease.

“Based on the developed contacts primarily with the individual hospitals involved, we have an ideal opportunity to identify, coordinate and clearly map the activities of these facilities. Our goal is also to actively help with the support of individual facilities in the area of ​​administrative steps and thus motivate these institutions to really participate in the studies.“, says Dr Lenka Součková, coordinator of the NATIONAL CTUs NETWORK. The attitude of individual medical facilities to participate in specific studies can be found on the website https://www.czecrin.cz/zdrav-zarizeni-covid-19.

In addition to this activity, the research infrastructure representatives also initiated the international study CZECRIN COVID-19, aimed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in hospitalized patients with acute respiratory impairment requiring oxygen therapy. As a part of this step, the coordinators of the force study joined the representatives of the Slovak SLOVACRIN network. This collaboration can yield a wider range of results about the impact of treatment.

“As a next step in our activities to treat COVID-19, we have initiated our own study which focuses not only on the clinical efficacy and safety of the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, but also on key immunological parameters, their evolution over time and monitoring specific antibodies in patients with the disease COVID-19. Cooperation with colleagues from the Slovak hub SLOVACRIN was a logical step for us and we believe that it can bring valuable information in the treatment of this disease.”, said Assoc. Prof Regina Demlová, main coordinator of CZECRIN.

During the epidemiological situation, the research infrastructure management also decided to offer research capacity and administrative support to other facilities to deal with the possible cause and treatment of this viral disease.

Those interested in more information can contact the CZECRIN main coordinator Assoc. Prof Regina Demlová, Ph.D., +420 725 828 385.