Call to apply clinical pharmacology principles in search for COVID-19 treatments

Researchers are called to apply clinical pharmacology principles in search for safe and effective treatments for COVID-19.

In a joint statement published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, the British Pharmacological Society and the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists caution international efforts that aim to safely expedite clinical trials in search for a COVID-19 treatment, to apply five the clinical pharmacology principles that are intended to give research efforts the best chance of success.

“The international clinical pharmacology community has much expertise to offer the COVID-19 effort,” says Immediate Past President of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists, Professor Carl Kirkpatrick.

“Clinical pharmacologist are experts in the development and use of medicines – the principles we use can help establish not just whether a drug will work but crucially, whether it will be safe.

“We hope that the principles outlined in this statement will help funders, researchers, media and policy makers navigate the known challenges of drug discovery and development.”

Five clinical pharmacology principles

The five clinical pharmacology principles that should be applied in the search for safe and effective treatments for COVID-19, include:

• The drug must work against the virus in cells or animal models at doses which are relevant for humans.
• The amount of drug reaching the cells and organs affected by the virus must be adequate to either kill the virus and/or reduce inflammation.
• There needs to be a good understanding of how the virus infects and multiplies within the body and how this relates to the clinical features of COVID-19.
• The information from the above three principles should be used to define the optimal doses and duration of therapy (or therapies when more than one drug is used).
• Well-designed trials must be undertaken to show the drug works in treating the disease and is safe.

To read the full statement, click here.