Antiviral clinical trial design throughout the COVID pandemic: evolving endpoints and lessons learnt
- Details
- Publication Year 2026-02-01,Volume 39,Issue #1,Page 75-81
- Journal Title
- Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
- Publication Type
- Review
- Abstract
- PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Trial design during the novel coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic was stymied by significant uncertainty about the natural history of the virus, at-risk populations, and optimal patient care by investigators and clinicians alike. RECENT FINDINGS: Three main types of trial design were invoked to address both the variable clinical disease and the evolving viral landscape, and to fit the respective health systems deploying the trials. These included adaptive trial design, platform trials, and master protocols. Strengths and challenges faced with each are discussed in more detail in the main text. SUMMARY: Future pandemics will almost certainly continue to arise. Similarly, the landscape will continue to evolve alongside our understanding of the disease. Designing trials that remain scientifically rigorous and practical while still addressing the changing natural history of the disease continues to pose a challenge.
- Publisher
- Wolters Kluwer
- Keywords
- Humans; *Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use; SARS-CoV-2; *Clinical Trials as Topic/methods; *COVID-19 Drug Treatment; *Research Design; Covid-19; Pandemics; clinical trial design; pandemic preparedness; viral infections
- Department(s)
- Infectious Diseases
- Publisher's Version
- https://doi.org/10.1097/qco.0000000000001165
- Terms of Use/Rights Notice
- Refer to copyright notice on published article.
Creation Date: 2026-01-15 11:50:41
Last Modified: 2026-01-15 11:51:01