Aspirin to be evaluated as a ‘recovery’ drug for Covid-19

Aspirin is the latest drug set to be evaluated in the large-scale Recovery trial — the Oxford University-run study that discovered the use of the common corticosteroid medicine dexamethasone in treating COVID-19 cases. 

According to a press release published today, aspirin’s blood-thinning properties could help avoid complications from blood clots associated with COVID-19.

The statement said that “it is anticipated that at least 2,000 patients will be randomly allocated to receive aspirin 150 mg daily plus usual standard-of-care, and results will be compared with at least 2,000 patients who receive standard-of-care on its own. Patients will not be allocated to receive aspirin if they have a known hypersensitivity to aspirin; if they have experienced recent major bleeding or if they already take aspirin or other antiplatelet agents.

The RECOVERY trial involves many thousands of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and research administrators at 176 hospitals across the whole of the UK, supported by staff at the NIHR Clinical Research Network, NHS DigiTrials, Public Health England, Department of Health & Social Care, the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre, Public Health Scotland, the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage at University of Swansea, and the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The main outcome RECOVERY will assess is mortality after 28 days. Other outcomes include the impact on hospital stay and the need for ventilation. It is likely to be several months before there is enough evidence to conclude whether aspirin has a significant benefit in COVID-19 patient

The everyday medicine joins a slate of more advanced treatments, like Regeneron’s monoclonal antibodies, that have come under the scrutiny of scientists in the U.K. as potential treatments for coronavirus infections.

The RECOVERY Trial is conducted by the registered clinical trials units with the Nuffield Department of Population Health in partnership with the Nuffield Department of Medicine. The trial is supported by a grant to the University of Oxford from UK Research and Innovation/National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and by core funding provided by NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Department for International Development, Health Data Research UK, the Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit, and NIHR Clinical Trials Unit Support Funding.