ASCOT: the race for therapies

1 minute read


The AustralaSian Covid-19 Trial aims to enrol more than 2000 patients to test whether two much-hyped drugs can halt disease progression


With some very average research gaining global traction, and the leader of the free world proposing we inject disinfectant to fight COVID-19, we need proper science to sort the sheep from the goats.

The AustralaSian Covid-19 Trial (ASCOT) aims to enrol more than 2000 patients across Australian and New Zealand hospitals to test whether two much-hyped drugs – hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir, or a combination – can stop disease progression.

While these trials can take two years from conception to recruitment, this one has taken a matter of weeks.

Penny Durham spoke to principal investigator Professor Joshua Davies about the ASCOT study, the rationale behind these drugs and the speed of pandemic science.

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