More patients to access second ground-breaking antiviral through Southampton study

Thousands more vulnerable people in England are now eligible to receive the UK’s second oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 through a study involving Faculty of Medicine researchers.

The PANORAMIC study makes antivirals available to a large number of patients, while collecting further data on how the antivirals work where the majority of the adult population is vaccinated.

Paxlovid has been added to the study after it showed it reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by 88% in clinical trials.

It is already available directly through the NHS to those whose immune systems mean they are at higher risk of serious illness who test positive for the virus – including those who are immunocompromised, cancer patients or those with Down’s syndrome.

In just over three months since the study launched, more than 20,000 patients have joined the PANORAMIC study to help generate vital data on molnupiravir, the first oral antiviral to be made available. The introduction of Paxlovid will allow a further 17,500 patients to enrol.

Professor Paul Little, from the University of Southampton and co-chief investigator of the study, said: “The PANORAMIC trial is one of the most ambitious ever undertaken in the community worldwide. The inclusion of Paxlovid in the trial is an exciting addition that will provide vital information about treatments to help the most vulnerable people in the ongoing fight against COVID.”

The study ensures antivirals are being used in the most effective way and is crucial in ensuring clinicians have the full information to prescribe antiviral treatments to patients in future.

It 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 5 days.

Antivirals are treatments used to either treat those who are infected with a virus or protect exposed individuals from becoming infected.

Chris Butler, from the University of Oxford who is leading the study, said: “It is early on in the illness, when people are still being cared for in the community, that treatments for COVID could have their greatest benefit. The PANORAMIC trial is testing whether novel, promising antiviral treatments help people suffering from COVID in the community to recover faster and reduce the need for treatment in hospital.

“It is critically important that new treatments are tested on people and in the situation where they are intended to be used. Joining the PANORAMIC trial will help ensure people with COVID, and indeed the NHS, get the maximum benefit from these precious treatments.”