On 23 April 2020, Indonesia became the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to begin the Solidarity Trial – a multinational clinical trial to find an effective treatment for COVID-19.
To date, no therapeutics have been known to safely and effectively treat COVID-19. WHO launched the global Solidarity Trial in March to address the significant need for a timely and large scale clinical trial to evaluate potential treatments for the disease. The Trial will compare the effectiveness of the local standard of care against four different drugs – hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, and lopinavir/ritonavir plus interferon among patients hospitalized for COVID-19. In less than a month, over 100 countries have already participated or expressed interest in joining the Trial and more than 1 000 patients have been enrolled so far.
Caption: WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announces the launch of the global Solidarity Trial at a press conference in Geneva in March. Photo credit: WHO
In Indonesia, the Solidarity Trial was officially launched on April 23 with the leadership of the National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD), the national coordinating body of the Trial. Officials from the Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO, COVID-19 Task Force, universities, and hospital representatives were present for the online ceremony.
Twenty-two hospitals from across the country will initially participate in the Trial. The first patient in the WHO South-East Asia Region was enrolled on 23 April and was announced during the launch event. For the Trial to be a success, a large number of patients and robust data must be collected to determine the relative effectiveness of potential treatments. For this reason, it is critical that all participating countries, including Indonesia, scale-up patient enrollment.
Two national Principal Investigators (PIs), Dr Irmansyah, Head of Center for Health Resources and Services, NIHRD, and Prof Dr Menaldi Rasmin SpP from the University of Indonesia oversee the implementation of the Trial and coordinate with site PIs from participating hospitals. The three levels of WHO, headquarters, Regional and Country Office, are providing close support to NIHRD throughout the Trial.
The Secretary General of the MoH, drg Oscar Primadi, stated that he hopes the Solidarity Trial will encourage the spirit of solidarity between Indonesia and other countries around the world. By participating in this multinational trial, Indonesia is not only showing its commitment to fight the pandemic, but it is also making a valuable contribution to the united global search for effective drugs to treat COVID-19 and help save lives.
More information on the global Solidarity Trial can be found here:
www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/global-research-on-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/solidarity-clinical-trial-for-covid-19-treatments
Main image caption: The Solidarity Trial will look at four different antiviral drug options to find a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. Credit: Arimacs Wilander/WHO