21 Apr 2020
Minderoo Foundation commits $1 million to support AustralaSian COVID-19 Trial
Media release
Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation has generously committed $1 million to support the AustralaSian COVID-19 Trial (ASCOT), a clinical trial aimed at testing the effectiveness and safety of two existing drugs (lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine) in patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
Led by Associate Professor Steven Tong, a Royal Melbourne Hospital infectious diseases clinician and co-lead of clinical research at the Doherty Institute, ASCOT opened its first site at the Royal Melbourne Hospital last week, with plans to recruit patients at over 70 hospitals across the country, in every state and territory, alongside 11 hospitals in New Zealand.
As a ‘new disease’ there are currently no treatments with established effectiveness for COVID-19. However, there are multiple treatment options, and combinations, that may be effective. Laboratory tests have shown that lopinavir/ritonavir, which is currently used to treat HIV, and hydroxychloroquine, used to treat arthritis and prevent and treat malaria, may stop SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in its tracks.
Minderoo Foundation announced earlier this month it had committed AU$160 million to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, including sourcing and transporting millions of pieces of personal protective equipment and medical supplies from China to Australia.
Minderoo Foundation Chairman Dr Andrew Forrest AO said a key component of the Foundation’s pledge to defeat the virus was funding research and clinical trials.
“We are most excited about supporting high quality clinical trials that can help patients and healthcare workers during this pandemic, not after it has passed. The ASCOT trial being led by the Doherty Institute is clearly one such trial,” Dr Forrest said.
“This trial will address the approximate 20 per cent of COVID-19 sufferers who have to go to hospital, and aims to help reduce the number of those who would typically progress to intensive care.”
University of Melbourne Professor Sharon Lewin, Director of the Doherty Institute, thanked Minderoo Foundation for its generous support and said clinical trials were crucial for testing the safety and efficacy of potential treatments for COVID-19.
“The aim of ASCOT is to test whether using these drugs – lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine – will prevent patients deteriorating to the point of needing a ventilator in the intensive care unit,” Professor Lewin said.
“To answer whether these treatments will work or not requires a large trial and therefore significant investment. We are closer to reaching our target thanks to the generous support of the Minderoo Foundation and other philanthropic gifts.”
For more information on ASCOT, visit ascot-trial.edu.au.