| Hydroxychloroquine + azithromycin vs hydroxychloroquine + azithromycin + tocilizumab trial | Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau | The first of the TOCOVID trials, will be led by the Health Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona. This is a phase II, randomized, multicentric, open-label clinical trial to test the use of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin with or without tocilizumab. The researchers will study whether the early administration of this last drug improves the joint action of the first two, thus analyzing the anticipated use of immunosuppression on interleukin 6 (IL-6), one of the causes of the appearance of serious lung disease due to infection. Specifically, it will evaluate whether in-hospital mortality is reduced as well as the need for mechanical ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit among other objectives. This clinical trial will be conducted in several hospitals in at least 3 Spanish autonomous communities. |
| Hyperimmune plasma derived from convalences as a therapeutic strategy | Hospital Puerta de Hierro in Majadahonda (Biomedical Research Foundation) | Trials run by the Puerta de Hierro Health Research Institute in Majadahonda, Madrid, and will involve at least seven other Spanish hospitals. It will evaluate the efficacy and safety of the use of hyperimmune plasma from patients cured after SARS-CoV-2 infection to treat new cases with pneumonia requiring hospitalization. Based on a culture of donation that has placed Spain as a world reference in this field, it will analyze the plasma of patients who have generated their own antibodies against COVID-19 after overcoming the disease. |
| Ensayo clínico de 3 brazos: hidroxicloroquina vs lopi/rito vs hidroxicloroquina + azitro | University Hospital La Paz (Foundation for Biomedical Research) | The research will compare three different treatment regimens with various antiviral drugs (hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir ritonavir, and the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin). It is led by the Health Research Institute of the Hospital La Paz de Madrid (IdiPaz) and will involve more than 30 hospitals from various autonomous communities. |
| Randomized clinical trial challenging defibrotide to the best available treatment | Murcian Institute for Biomedical Research (IMIB) | The trial will look at a drug, called defibrotide, to try to reduce respiratory distress, which is the main lung complication of COVID-19 and responsible for many patients needing treatment in intensive care units. This is the first of the studies funded by the COVID-19 Fund that evaluates the repositioning of a drug, that is, the use of a drug already used in other pathologies to treat coronavirus disease. This essay is led by the Murcian Institute of Biomedical Research (IMIB) and hopes to have the participation of centers in Catalonia, Castilla y León, Madrid and, internationally, with hospitals in the United States, Israel and Italy that have already shown interest in collaborating with the essay. |
| Randomized clinical trial promoted by the WHO that will compare 4 possible treatments | San Carlos Clinical Hospital | The antiviral trials are part of the World Health Organization (WHO) international study Solidarity, will be led by the Health Research Institute of the Clinical Hospital of Madrid and will compare the comparative effectiveness of the drugs remdesevir, ritonavir/lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine and interferon beta. The ultimate goal is to find the best treatments for the disease as quickly as possible, thereby helping to reduce the heterogeneity of the therapeutic protocols that the different Spanish hospitals are using. |
| Randomized clinical trial with hydroxychloroquine as prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in pregnant women | ISGlobal | Clinical trial, led by ISGlobal in collaboration with various hospitals in Barcelona and Madrid, which will evaluate the effect of the drug hydroxychloroquine in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and will also study its preventive use (pre-exposure prophylaxis) in pregnant women without the disease. The trial, which takes advantage of the experience already accumulated in the use of chloroquine in pregnant women in the prevention of malaria, plans the participation of more than 700 women. |
| Supercomputing for drug repositioning | National Supercomputing Center - Barcelona Supercomputing Center | Study of drug repositioning, that is, the use of drugs already approved to treat other diseases and that could be effective against COVID-19. In this case, it is a project based on supercomputing, led by the National Center for Supercomputing - Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC), which would speed up the use of new therapies against the disease that are already available on the market with other therapeutic indications. |
| Clinical Trial on Prevention of COVID-19 Infection in Nursing Homes and Residential Staff | Institute of Biomedical Research of Malaga (IBIMA) | Clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of preventive treatment with hydroxychloroquine in staff and residents of nursing homes in Spain. It will have the participation of about 2,000 people among residents and health professionals from four autonomous communities. |
| Use of drugs that increase ACE2 expression and risk of COVID-19: a case-population study | Hospital Príncipe de Asturias (Biomedical Research Foundation) | There are drugs that can be a risk factor in relation to COVID-19, or influence its development and severity. This epidemiological study is focused on analyzing how drugs that increase the expression of the angiotensin-2 converting enzyme (ACE2) can affect the evolution of the disease. |
| STOP-Coronavirus: clinical, immunological, genomic, virological and bioethical factors of COVID-19 | Hospital October 12 (Biomedical Research Foundation) | It analyzes the clinical, immunological, genomic, virological, social and bioethical factors related to COVID-19. Among other objectives, the immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the genetic markers of host susceptibility, the clinic of immunosuppressed patients, the evolution of the response to antiviral treatment and the socioeconomic repercussions will be characterized. It will try to achieve the individualization of the clinical and therapeutic approach according to each group of patients to mitigate the health and social impact of the pandemic. |
| [Epidemiological study and clinico-molecular implications of angiotensin in the prognosis of SARS-Cov-2 infection]. | Institute of Health Research Biocruces Bizkaia | Epidemiological study on the expression of genetic polymorphisms in patients with COVID-19 infection, analyzing treatment with antihypertensive drugs. It aims to establish the association and impact between COVID-19 infection and chronic treatment with these drugs. |
| Effect of drug consumption before and during SARS-COV-2 infection on the evolution of patients with COVID-19. A population-based cohort study | Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela | Study on the effect of drug consumption before and during SARS-CoV-2 infection on the evolution of patients with COVID-19. Cohorts of patients treated with antihypertensives and antiinflammatories will be analyzed with the aim of identifying therapies associated with a better or worse evolution of the disease. |
| Retrospective cohort study to assess the effect of NSAIDs and ACEIs | Bioaraba Health Research Institute | Research project to know if patients taking drugs that increase the expression of angiotensin 2 converting enzyme (ACEI, ARB and NSAID) are more at risk of suffering a worse evolution of COVID-19. Among other factors, the relationship with mortality and hospital admissions will be analyzed. |
| Characterization and therapeutic management of immune hyperactivation associated with mortality in COVID-19 | Gregorio Marañón Hospital (Biomedical Research Foundation) | Research that seeks to characterize and improve the therapeutic management of immune hyperactivation associated with COVID-19 mortality. The study will identify predictive markers of relative risk and progression of COVID-19 disease, as well as optimize the use of two drugs, tocilizumab and anakinra. |
| Reposicionamiento terapéutico dirigido a inhibición de expresión de ACE2 y de proteolisis de trímero S viral | Institute of Biomedical Research of Lleida (IRBLleida) | It analyzes therapeutic repositioning strategies, using drugs already approved for other indications that could be useful in COVID-19. The screening of drugs already used to treat various diseases will allow us to focus on new therapeutic weapons. |
| EPICOS - Clinical Trial for the Prevention of Coronavirus Infection in Healthcare Settings | State Foundation, Health, Childhood and Social Welfare (FCSAI) | [EPICOS study for the prevention of coronavirus infection in health personnel]. Three different therapeutic strategies with drug combinations are evaluated to try to reduce the risk, incidence and transmission of COVID-19 in healthcare settings. |
| An innovative therapy against COVID-19 based on circular RNAs | Pompeu Fabra University | Innovative therapy against COVID-19 based on circular RNAs, which specifically interferes with essential structures in the virus genome to inactivate it. In addition to helping to improve the treatment of COVID-19, the project can constitute an important line of containment once the expected resistances against antiviral drugs are developed. |
| Drug repositioning project directed against the Mpro protease | Polytechnic University of Catalonia | He coordinates a study that seeks to discover inhibitors of the Mpro protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as new antiviral treatments. Through bioinformatics analysis, different methods of drug design will be analyzed to obtain a list of molecules that show affinity and that can be tested in ‘in vitro’ models. |
| Study of the immune response in nested cases in a cohort to evaluate the effect of antiretrovirals on the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection | University Hospital La Paz (Foundation for Biomedical Research) | It seeks to understand the inflammatory status of patients in a project that will provide new information on the evolution of COVID-19. The effect of various drugs on the activation of the inflammasome and its relationship with inflammation and immune response will be studied. The data associated with patient evolution are determinants for classifying patients who respond better or worse to therapies, and for determining mechanisms of viral evasion. |
| ACE2-ORG: Development of a human cellular platform unveiling Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-SARS-CoV-2 interactions | Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) | It coordinates research that is based on the generation of organoids (cell models that simulate the work of human organs) to study possible therapies and perform drug screening. The objective is to identify the cellular responses in these ‘mini-organs’ exposed to various clinical manifestations that worsen the prognosis of COVID-19, such as diabetes, in order to be able to concretize new therapeutic approaches. |
| Short- and medium-term therapies for the treatment of COVID-19: senolitics and vaccine development | Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CBMSO-CSIC) | He coordinates a project around the use of senolitics for the management of COVID-19. The main objective of this project is the specific elimination of ‘aged’ cells through the use of senolytics, a type of drug aimed at eliminating these cells, in order to improve the clinical picture of those affected. The fact that some senolytic drugs are already in the clinical phase could accelerate their use in patients with COVID-19. The research also focuses on the development of vaccines based on different cellular responses. |
| Mechanistic model based on artificial intelligence for the reuse of drugs against SARS-CoV-2 infection | Andalusian Public Foundation Progress and Health | It will develop a mechanistic model based on artificial intelligence, which has already been successfully used in rare diseases, for the reuse of drugs against SARS-CoV-2 infection that are already being used to treat other diseases. |
| Clinical utility of IL-6 signaling analysis as an indicator of COVID-19 disease activity. Therapeutic opportunity with IL-6 trans-signaling blockers | State Agency Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) | It coordinates a project to determine the clinical utility of interleukin 6 (IL-6) signaling analysis as an indicator of COVID-19 activity, development, and progress. The therapeutic opportunity with IL-6 transsignaling blockers will be analyzed and a genetic and bioinformatic analysis of the genes involved in the signaling of this interleukin will be performed to select and stratify patients and know who can benefit most from IL-6 blocker therapy. |
