Cancer drug tested against COVID-19 in small trial
NCT ID NCT04394416
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether imatinib, a drug used for certain cancers, could help hospitalized adults with COVID-19. Participants received either imatinib or a placebo alongside standard care. The trial was stopped early and only included 21 people, so no firm conclusions can be drawn.
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
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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21 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2020
- Finished
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Jul 2025
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria Patients may be included in the study only if they meet all of the following criteria: 1. Ability to understand and willingness to sign a written informed consent document. Informed consent must be obtained prior to participation in the study. For patients who are too unwell to provide consent such as patients on invasive ventilator or ECMO, Legally Authorized Representative (LAR) can sign the informed consent. 2. Hospitalized patients ≥ 18 years of age 3. Positive RT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 in the respiratory tract sample (oropharyngeal, nasopharyngeal or BAL) by Center for Disease Control or local laboratory within 7 days of randomization. Exclusion Criteria Patients meeting any of the following criteria are not eligible for the study: 1. Patients receiving any other investigational agents in a clinical trial. Off-label use of agents such as hydroxychloroquine is not an exclusion criterion. Therapies that are shown to be effective but may not be licensed can be added as an exception to the exclusion criteria in order to allow for the most contemporary standard of care to include emergency use authorization treatments as they become available. Antivirals such as remdesivir will be permissible given the FDA authorized emergency use. 2. Pregnant or breastfeeding women. 3. Patients with significant liver or renal dysfunction function at screen as defined as: * Direct bilirubin \> 2.5 mg/dL * AST, ALT, or alkaline phosphatase \> 5 x upper limit of normal * eGFR ≤ 30 mL/min or requiring renal replacement therapy 4. Patients with significant hematologic disorder at screen as defined as: * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \< 500/μL * Platelet \< 20,000/μL * Hemoglobin \< 7 g/dL 5. Uncontrolled undercurrent illness including, but not limited to, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, uncontrolled active seizure disorder, or psychiatric illness/social situations that per site Principal Investigator's judgment would limit compliance with study requirements. 6. Known allergy to imatinib or its component products. 7. Any other clinical conditions that in the opinion of the investigator would make the subject unsuitable for the study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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