Northern Ireland Executive
16 Jan 2023, 17:30 GMT+10
Participants are being sought in Northern Ireland to take part in the latest phase of a UK wide study to investigate antiviral treatments for COVID-19.
The PANORAMIC study, run by the University of Oxford, alongside the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network (NICRN) has been running across the UK since December 2021 aiming to find out if new antiviral medicines help to keep people with COVID-19 from needing to be admitted to hospital and help people to get better sooner.
The study is open to adults over the age of 50 or those aged 18 to 49 with an underlying health condition that can increase the risk of developing severe COVID-19, who have received a positive COVID-19 test result, and who are experiencing symptoms that started in the previous five days.
Previously the first stage of the PANORAMIC study recruited over 25,000 participants across the UK with over 1000 participants from Northern Ireland.
This made the study the fastest recruiting clinical trial ever in the UK and a novel initiative that has paved the path for how research can be conducted in primary care. The data from the trial is important to help understand how to make best use of antiviral medicines for the treatment of COVID-19.
In this latest phase of the study an additional antiviral, Paxlovid, is now being investigated. Recruitment to the Paxlovid arm initially began in England and now has sites open across the UK, including Northern Ireland.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Michael McBride said: "While vaccination remains our main defence against COVID-19, we must continually look at any treatments that could help people recover more quickly, reduce the numbers needing hospital care and reduce the pressure on our health services.
"It therefore remains important to learn more about who could benefit from antivirals through studies such as this, which could not only help reduce recovery time and hospitalisation for individuals, but also help reduce pressures on our hospitals and we need your help to provide those answers."
The antiviral Paxlovid is a medicine which is swallowed as a capsule for treating people with COVID-19 infections to help reduce the risk of hospitalisations and death. Paxlovid is currently one of the treatment options for those at highest risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 being delivered by Health and Social Care, Outpatient COVID-19 Treatment services (OCTs). In total, over 6,000 patients at highest risk from the effects of Covid-19 have received ground-breaking treatments in Northern Ireland's OCTs in the last 12 months. Paxlovid has now been included in the PANORAMIC study to investigate the antiviral in a wider group of people.
Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Cathy Harrison said: "Antivirals are an important addition to our response to COVID-19 and it is vital that we continue to focus on the development and evaluation of new treatments for COVID-19."
Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Ian Young said: "The best clinical care is based on the highest quality research. This can only happen when the public and research community come together to work towards that goal. NICRN exists to enable such research to happen, and the PANORAMIC study is one of a number that have taken place during the pandemic in which Northern Ireland has played a significant role."
Any members of the public registering from Northern Ireland will be guided through the study and monitored by the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network.
Professor Nigel Hart, co-lead of the primary care group of the NICRN and Lead Investigator for PANORAMIC in Northern Ireland said: "We couldn't do this work without the incredible support of the public, we are indebted to them."
Further information for the public is available on NI Direct- Treatments for coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage. For more information on study eligibility and to sign up to the trial, visit: https://www.panoramictrial.org/
Get a daily dose of Northern Ireland News news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Northern Ireland News.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: A federal rule designed to make it easier for Americans to cancel subscriptions has been blocked by a U.S. appeals...
BASTROP, Texas: In a surprising turn at Elon Musk's X platform, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down, just months after...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday with all the major indices gaining ground. Markets in the UK, Europe and Canada...
In the past month alone, 23 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza—three more than the number of remaining living hostages held...
LONDON, U.K.: At least 13 people are believed to have taken their own lives as a result of the U.K.'s Post Office scandal, in which...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
SLUBICE, Poland: Poland reinstated border controls with Germany and Lithuania on July 7, following Germany's earlier reintroduction...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: After months of warnings from former federal officials and weather experts, the deadly flash floods that struck the...