University manages UK’s first trial into potential for anti-viral drug Remdesivir to treat long COVID
The University of Plymouth is part of a groundbreaking project looking to find an effective treatment for the symptoms of long COVID.
It is estimated that over two million people in the UK, and more than 144 million globally, are living with long COVID and almost a quarter of sufferers have experienced symptoms such as extreme fatigue and breathlessness, palpitations, and brain fog for more than two years.
The ERASE – long COVID trial, launched in September 2024 and led by the University of Derby, is the first of its kind in the UK, exploring whether anti-viral medications can be used as a treatment option for patients diagnosed with the condition.
The anti-viral medication being trialled is already used to treat people admitted to hospital with COVID-19, but as most people are not hospitalised with the condition, they do not have a way to access this medication.
This trial, involving 72 patients living with long COVID, will investigate whether it can alleviate some of the symptoms that people are living with.
The ERASE study is being managed by the Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit (PenCTU)at the University of Plymouth.
It has almost two decades of experience managing clinical trials, including drug trials and other medical interventions, with the PenCTU team supporting researchers throughout the development and delivery of this new project.
They will also ensure the data generated through it are gathered and managed appropriately, so they can be used to inform the design of a larger future trial.
ERASE- Long Covid Trial
ERASE-LC is funded by a research grant from Gilead Sciences for people with long COVID, sponsored by the University of Derby and managed by the University of Plymouth’s Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit (PenCTU). Professor Mark Faghy (Professor in Clinical Exercise Science) is the Chief Investigator and will be leading the research.
One in ten people experience symptoms in the weeks, months and even years following a COVID-19 infection. These symptoms affect people in different ways and there is evidence that they impact physical and mental well-being and cognitive function. These collections of symptoms are called long COVID. Currently, there are no treatments available to address these issues, but anti-viral medications have been suggested as being potentially effective.
Remdesivir is an anti-viral medication used to treat people admitted to hospital with COVID-19. We don’t know if this works to reduce the symptoms of long COVID and before we conduct a large study to investigate this we need to see if a smaller number of participants are able to tolerate the study processes and the drug. The information gathered from this study will be used to inform the design of a larger future trial, which will determine whether Remdesivir can be used as a treatment for long COVID.
If you are interested in taking part in the study, please click on the link below to find out more and register your interest: