Blood thinners and COVID-19: Researchers from 100-plus sites join forces for new clinical trials

Michael Walter | | Cardiovascular Business | COVID-19
COVID

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is researching the safety and effectiveness of using anticoagulants to treat COVID-19 patients, holding clinical trials at more than 100 different sites.

The work is all part of the NIH’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) initiative, which was first announced back in April. Known collectively as ACTIV-4 Antithrombotics, the trials will include some patients who are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, some who have already been discharged from the hospital and some who were never hospitalized at all. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer are donating treatments for the trials.

“There is currently no standard of care for anticoagulation in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and there is a desperate need for clinical evidence to guide practice,” NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, said in a prepared statement. “Conducting trials using multiple existing networks of research sites provides the scale and speed that will get us answers faster.”

The University of Florida and OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium are both participating in the trials, working together with the hope of recruiting up to 1,600 study participants.

“Health systems around the state are combining their efforts to be a key part of this clinical trial,” said Eileen Handberg, PhD, a cardiology professor for the University of Florida Health and a principal investigator for the ACTIV-4 Antithrombotic Outpatient trial, said in the same statement. “Our centralized administration and OneFlorida’s extensive network of health partners in Florida and around the country make us an ideal site for handling the kind of rapid recruitment needed for COVID-19 trials like ACTIV-4.”

Michael Walter
Michael Walter, Managing Editor

Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.

Related Content

Vaccines—for the flu, COVID-19 and other infections—are a ‘foundational pillar’ of heart protection
Major association of physicians presents itself as a go-to alternative vs. the government on vaccine expertise
FDA finalizes new heart warnings for COVID-19 vaccines
Death from heart disease more common in rural areas—what can cardiologists do?
FDA wants new heart damage warnings added to COVID-19 vaccines
PET imaging reveals long-term heart and lung damage from COVID-19

Around the web

Health Exec
Major association of physicians presents itself as a go-to alternative vs. the government on vaccine expertise

One of the most formidable societies of medical professionals in the U.S. is going toe-to-toe with Robert F. Kennedy’s HHS over changing vaccination recommendations. 

Health Exec
Tom Price: Medical residency slots need to expand to combat physician shortages

Tom Price, MD, former secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), said one way to address the growing shortage of physicians is to expand medical resident positions, but these are tied to Medicare spending so alternative means may be needed.

Health Imaging
Tariffs will have a significant impact on the nuclear imaging supply chain in the US

"Domestic radiopharmaceutical suppliers, who receive isotopes from abroad, would be impacted by price changes and uncertainty caused by additional tariffs,” SNMMI President Cathy Cutler, PhD, wrote in a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce this week.