A new Antivirals Taskforce has been launched by the government to
identify treatments for UK patients who have been exposed to
COVID-19 to stop the infection spreading and speed up recovery
time.
The Taskforce will search for the most promising novel antiviral
medicines that can be taken at home and support their development
through clinical trials to ensure they can be rapidly rolled out
to patients as early as the Autumn.
The Taskforce will also look at opportunities to onshore the
manufacture of antiviral treatments.
The aim is to have at least two effective treatments this year,
either in a tablet or capsule form, that the public can take at
home following a positive COVID-19 test or exposure to someone
with the virus.
This will be another vital tool to combat any future increase in
infections and limit the impact of new variants - especially over
the flu season later this year.
Prime Minister said:
“The success of our vaccination programme has demonstrated what
the UK can achieve when we bring together our brightest minds.
“Our new Antivirals Taskforce will seek to develop innovative
treatments you can take at home to stop COVID-19 in its tracks.
These could provide another vital defence against any future
increase in infections and save more lives.”
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
“The UK is leading the world in finding and rolling out effective
treatments for COVID-19, having identified dexamethasone, which
has saved over a million lives worldwide, and tocilizumab.
“In combination with our fantastic vaccination programme,
medicines are a vital weapon to protect our loved ones from this
terrible virus.
“Modelled on the success of the vaccines and therapeutics
taskforces, which have played a crucial part in our response to
the pandemic, we are now bringing together a new team that will
supercharge the search for antiviral treatments and roll them out
as soon as the Autumn.
“I am committed to boosting the UK’s position as a life science
superpower and this new taskforce will help us beat COVID-19 and
build back better.”
The antivirals could be used alone or in combination with one
another in order to increase effectiveness and reduce the risk of
further mutations.
The new taskforce will sit alongside the government’s existing
Therapeutics Taskforce, which will continue its vital work to
identify and supply treatments found to be effective in clinical
trials, for all stages of a patient’s exposure and response to
COVID-19.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UK has proven itself to
be a world-leader in identifying and rolling out effective
treatments for COVID-19 – including the world’s first treatment
dexamethasone, which has since saved 22,000 lives in the UK so
far and an estimated million worldwide.
The UK’s renowned life sciences sector makes it the ideal base
for the brightest of global innovators to research and progress
cutting-edge treatments for COVID-19 through the clinical trials
process here in Britain.
Sir , Government
Chief Scientific Adviser, said:
“The speed at which vaccines and therapeutics such as
dexamethasone have been identified and deployed against COVID-19
has been critical to the pandemic response.
“Antivirals in tablet form are another key tool for the response.
They could help protect those not protected by or ineligible for
vaccines. They could also be another layer of defence in the face
of new variants of concern.
“The Taskforce will help ensure the most promising antivirals are
available for deployment as quickly as possible.”
Dr Nikita Kanani, Medical Director of Primary Care for
NHS England, said:
“Alongside caring for 400,000 COVID-19 patients since the start
of the pandemic, the NHS has saved lives around the world through
its contribution to developing the first ever treatment for
COVID-19, dexamethasone, as well as administering the first
vaccine for the virus, outside of clinical trials.
“The NHS has put research into reality at record speed during the
pandemic and this taskforce will now help us to identify and roll
out even more new, convenient treatments for patients with
COVID-19.”
Notes to Editor:
- A competition to identify a chair for the Antivirals
Taskforce will be launched shortly, and further details on the
structure of the Taskforce will be set out in due course.
- On 16 June, the government-funded RECOVERY trial became
the first to identify the benefits of dexamethasone in
reducing mortality by 20% in patients requiring oxygen support
and 35% for ventilated patients, following a readout from the
RECOVERY trial and later supported by the WHO and REMAP-CAP.
- Through securing a supply chain and stockpile of the drug, we
were able to ensure quicker distribution to tackle the effects of
COVID-19.
- Dexamethasone has
since shown to have saved 22,000 lives in the UK so far and
an estimated million worldwide.
- More recently, the REMAP-CAP trial demonstrated the benefits of
tocilizumab and sarilumab, as well as the RECOVERY trial
which
found tocilizumab reduced the relative risk of death for
patient on oxygen by 14%, when administered in addition to
dexamethasone.
- The Taskforce alongside RAPID C-19 worked swiftly to ensure
that patients were able to receive treatment where clinically
appropriate straight away.
