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COVID drug showdown: 3,800 patients test which pill kills virus fastest

NCT ID NCT05041907

Disease control Sponsor: University of Oxford Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This phase 2 trial is testing several antiviral drugs—including Paxlovid, molnupiravir, and older drugs like hydroxychloroquine—in 3,800 adults with mild COVID-19. Participants are randomly assigned to receive one of the treatments or no antiviral drug, and researchers measure how quickly the virus clears from their throat and nose over five days. The goal is to identify which drugs speed recovery and reduce viral load, helping guide future treatment choices.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Various antiviral drugs (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, molnupiravir, nitazoxanide, hydroxychloroquine, fluoxetine, monoclonal antibodies)
What this could lead to
If successful, this trial could identify which existing drugs work best to clear the virus faster in early COVID-19, helping doctors choose the most effective treatment.
What could go wrong
This is a mid-stage trial testing many drugs at once, so results may not confirm which is truly best. Some drugs (like hydroxychloroquine) have already shown mixed results in other studies.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 3,800 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Sep 2021

Expected to finish

Jan 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 60 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Patient understands the procedures and requirements and is willing and able to give informed consent for full participation in the study. * Previously healthy adults, male or female, aged 18 to 60 years at time of consent with early symptomatic COVID-19 * SARS-CoV-2 positive by lateral flow antigen test OR a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 within the last 24hrs with a Ct value of less than 25 (all viral targets) * Symptoms of COVID-19 (including fever, or history of fever) for less than 4 days (96 hours). * Oxygen saturation ≥96% measured by pulse-oximetry at time of screening. * Able to walk unaided and unimpeded in ADLs * Agrees and is able to adhere to all study procedures, including availability and contact information for follow-up visits Exclusion Criteria: The patient may not enter the study if ANY of the following apply: * Taking any concomitant medications or drugs (see appendix 4)† * Presence of any chronic illness/ condition requiring long term treatment, or other significant comorbidity (e.g. diabetes, obesity but see appendix 4 for the full list) * Laboratory abnormalities discovered at screening (see appendix 4) * For females: pregnancy, actively trying to become pregnant, or lactation * Contraindication to taking, or known hypersensitivity reaction to any of the proposed therapeutics (see appendix 4) * Currently participating in another COVID-19 therapeutic or vaccine trial * Evidence of pneumonia (although imaging is NOT required) * healthy women on the oral contraceptive pill are eligible to join the study

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

COVID-19

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

COVID-19

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    4 sites in 4 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Bangplee Hospital

    TERMINATED

    Mueang Samut Prakan, 10540, Thailand

  • Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University

    RECRUITING

    Bangkok, 10400, Thailand

  • Laos-Oxford-Mahosot Wellcome Trust Research Unit

    RECRUITING

    Vientiane, 01000, Laos

  • Sukraraj Tropical & Infectious Disease Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Kathmandu, Nepal

  • The Aga Khan University Hospital

    TERMINATED

    Karachi, Pakistan

  • Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

    RECRUITING

    Minas Gerais, Brazil

  • Vajira hospital

    TERMINATED

    Bangkok, 10300, Thailand

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