Hospitals in Saudi Arabia invited to Participate in Coronavirus Clinical Trials

A nationwide call to all hospitals to participate in several clinical trials approved by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) on the coronavirus was announced recently.

King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) is currently conducting several clinical trials on COVID-19 using different antivirals.

First is the “Avi-Mild 19” for a trial on Favipiravir manufactured in Japan and used in mild illness cases.

Second, the “FACCT,” based on a compound of Favipiravir and hydroxychloroquine, is used in moderate malaria cases in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. The third study is about extracting blood plasma from those who recovered from coronavirus (convalescent plasma) to be infused in patients with active disease of moderate severity. This study is lead by King Fahad Specialist Hospital – Dammam.

The Executive Director of KAIMRC mentioned that since there is still no antiviral for coronavirus approved by the SFDA, any medicine currently offered to patients is indeed experimental. He stressed that the increasing number of clinical trials is one indicator of the nation’s medical and scientific development.