The University of Alabama at Birmingham will take part in an NIH-sponsored global clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of novel therapeutic agents in hospitalized adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The drug remdesivir is the first agent to be evaluated.

The UAB site was activated March 25, 2020, by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, meaning it can begin enrollment as part of this phase three therapeutic clinical trial immediately.

UAB is one of several sites being activated for the trial. The study will be conducted in up to 75 sites globally. Paul Goepfert, MD, professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases, serves as the UAB principal investigator for this study.

"Remdesivir worked well in the test tube and animal models against a close relative of COVID-19," Goepfert said. "We are excited to have the opportunity to rapidly determine whether this drug will help treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19 here at UAB."

COVID-19 can cause mild illness that can be overcome, but more severe cases can be life-threatening. More information about the 2019 novel coronavirus is available on the CDC website.

"COVID-19 is rapidly spreading throughout the world, and the US now has the third-highest number of cases in the world, with more than 50,000 patients," Goepfert said, "Although the first case of COVID-19 in Alabama was diagnosed just over a week ago, we now have more than 200 cases in our state."