Healthy Debate article: Why Canada needs a ready-to-run adaptive platform trial before the next pandemic hits

Before the next pandemic hits, Canada needs a way to rapidly test the effectiveness of medications for respiratory infections in our communities, such as in primary care and emergency departments.

In a new article for Healthy Debate, Upstream Lab scientists Dr. Benita Hosseini and Dr. Andrew Pinto explain how a type of clinical trial, called an adaptive platform trial, can achieve this.

“A ready-to-run adaptive platform trial that stays in place to evaluate multiple treatments as soon as a threat emerges could ensure that Canada is no longer caught unprepared or dependent on evidence from elsewhere. This type of platform trial would be permanent, ‘always on’ infrastructure to rapidly assess multiple treatments in real-world settings,” they write.

Dr. Pinto and Dr. Hosseini are launching a new adaptive platform trial called TreatResp, to test treatments for respiratory infections in community settings. It is adapted from their previous trial called CanTreatCOVID, which was one of the largest outpatient trials conducted in Canada with 800 participants.

“A standing platform would give decision-makers early signals about which drugs are effective, which groups benefit most and rapid data to support or revise guidelines. In other words: better data, fewer costly mistakes.”

Read more in Healthy Debate: Why Canada needs a ready-to-run adaptive platform trial before the next pandemic hits