Appeal to Bradfordians to take part in ground-breaking anti-covid drug trial

Scientists want to recruit people from Bradford and the region to take part in a ‘ground-breaking’ national anti-viral drugs trial.

Professor Mahendra Patel is professor in pharmacy at the University of Bradford and also national lead on the pharmacy for the trial, which is being led by the University of Oxford. He said it could help clinically vulnerable people recover much quicker from covid and may even prevent the need for hospitalisation.

“This could be a ground-breaking drug, especially for the clinically vulnerable. We want to ensure the trial is accessible to all. This is an anti-viral agent to tackle Covid-19, the first of its kind in the world to be trialled like this. It could help reduce symptoms and help stop you going to hospital.”

The team behind the PANORAMIC trial want to recruit 10,500 people - you must have had a positive PCR test for covid and be either over 50 or have an underlying health condition to take part.

Those who sign up to the trial will then be contacted by the team, who will send out doses of the anti-viral drug Molnupiravir, which is the first of several antiviral treatments that will be tested during the study.

Taking part is easy and free of charge.

You can join online or by phone from home - the team will then courier post all the necessary information to you directly to your home. This will include a symptom diary to note any symptoms you may have, and you may also receive a short course of a new antiviral treatment to be taken by mouth.

Join the University of Oxford and the PANORAMIC trial in the UK-wide search for the early treatment of COVID-19 symptoms by visiting www.panoramictrial.org.

Or by calling free on 08081 560017.