• DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • COVID-19
      • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Research & development
      • R&D portfolio & list of projects
      • Drug discovery
      • Translational research
      • Clinical trials
      • Registration & access
      • Treatments delivered
    • Advocacy
      • Open and collaborative R&D
      • Transparency of R&D costs
      • Pro-access policies and IP
      • Children’s health
      • Gender equity
      • Climate change
      • AI and new technologies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • Dengue Alliance
      • HAT Platform
      • HELP Helminth Elimination Platform
      • LEAP Platform
      • redeLEISH Network
    • DNDi worldwide
      • DNDi Switzerland
      • DNDi DRC
      • DNDi Eastern Africa
      • DNDi Japan
      • DNDi Latin America
      • DNDi North America
      • DNDi South Asia
      • DNDi South-East Asia
      • DNDi Southern Africa
  • News & resources
    • News & stories
      • News
      • Stories
      • Statements
      • Viewpoints
      • Social media
      • eNews Newsletter
    • Press
      • Press releases
      • In the media
    • Resources
      • Scientific articles
      • Our publications
      • Videos
    • Events
  • About us
    • About
      • Who we are
      • How we work
      • Our strategy
      • Our donors
      • Annual reports
    • Our people
      • Our leadership
      • Our governance
      • Contact us
    • Work with us
      • Working at DNDi
      • Job opportunities
      • Requests for proposal
  • Donate
DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • COVID-19
      • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Research & development
      • R&D portfolio & list of projects
      • Drug discovery
      • Translational research
      • Clinical trials
      • Registration & access
      • Treatments delivered
    • Advocacy
      • Open and collaborative R&D
      • Transparency of R&D costs
      • Pro-access policies and IP
      • Children’s health
      • Gender equity
      • Climate change
      • AI and new technologies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • Dengue Alliance
      • HAT Platform
      • HELP Helminth Elimination Platform
      • LEAP Platform
      • redeLEISH Network
    • DNDi worldwide
      • DNDi Switzerland
      • DNDi DRC
      • DNDi Eastern Africa
      • DNDi Japan
      • DNDi Latin America
      • DNDi North America
      • DNDi South Asia
      • DNDi South-East Asia
      • DNDi Southern Africa
  • News & resources
    • News & stories
      • News
      • Stories
      • Statements
      • Viewpoints
      • Social media
      • eNews Newsletter
    • Press
      • Press releases
      • In the media
    • Resources
      • Scientific articles
      • Our publications
      • Videos
    • Events
  • About us
    • About
      • Who we are
      • How we work
      • Our strategy
      • Our donors
      • Annual reports
    • Our people
      • Our leadership
      • Our governance
      • Contact us
    • Work with us
      • Working at DNDi
      • Job opportunities
      • Requests for proposal
  • Donate
Home > Press releases

Brazil joins ANTICOV trial to find early treatments for people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19

The ANTICOV clinical trial for COVID-19 outpatients in low-resource settings is partnering with the TOGETHER platform study in Brazil

Home > Press releases

Brazil joins ANTICOV trial to find early treatments for people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19

The ANTICOV clinical trial for COVID-19 outpatients in low-resource settings is partnering with the TOGETHER platform study in Brazil

Healthcare workers with patient
RIO DE JANEIRO / GENEVA — 5 Jul 2022
Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print
  • English
    • English
    • Português

The ANTICOV study, a platform clinical trial which aims to find early treatments for mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 and is currently conducted in 13 African countries, is expanding to Brazil through a collaboration with the TOGETHER study team, a Brazilian-Canadian partnership that is running another large platform trial in the country.  

‘The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. New waves fuelled by new variants are still putting public health systems around the world under heavy strain,’ said Dr Nathalie Strub-Wourgaft, Director of the COVID-19 Response for the non-profit research and development organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), which is coordinating the ANTICOV consortium.  

‘We still need oral COVID-19 treatments that are safe, affordable, and globally accessible. We need easy-to-administer drugs for outpatients diagnosed within seven days after the first appearance of symptoms. The TOGETHER study has already identified two effective treatments for patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms, and we welcome this partnership with its researchers in Brazil.’  

Launched in September 2020, ANTICOV is a collaboration of now 27 partners from leading research institutions and international health organizations aiming to identify COVID-19 treatments that are optimized for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and that can prevent progression to severe disease.  

The ANTICOV trial in Brazil will include up to 600 patients in up to 21 sites. The data gathered will be pooled with the existing ANTICOV study carried out in 13 African countries. 

‘The goal of ANTICOV is to identify the best treatment regimen that could be used for test-and-treat strategies in LMICs – and could therefore prevent the evolution to a severe form, potentially limit transmission, reduce the risk of developing a long-COVID, and prevent hospitalization and death that periodically threaten to overwhelm hospitals,’ said Dr Gilmar Reis, Associate Professor at the Universidade Catolica de Minais Gerais and Co-Principal Investigator of the TOGETHER trial. ‘This is a research priority and the expansion of the ANTICOV trial to Brazil is bringing us closer to that goal.’ 

More than 6,000 patients have enrolled to date in the TOGETHER trial, which has evaluated 11 treatments for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases. The TOGETHER trial has already shown in August 2021 that a compound named fluvoxamine is effective against COVID-19 and can reduce deaths and hospitalizations by up to 30%. More recently in March 2022, the trial has also found that peginterferon lambda reduced hospitalizations or death by 60% with early treatment. 

The ANTICOV trial in Brazil will start by testing a new drug combination, fluoxetine and inhaled budesonide. Fluoxetine is a safe and widely available anti-depressant that belongs to the same class of compounds as fluvoxamine. Budesonide is a safe and affordable inhaled corticosteroid thought to have anti-inflammatory efficacy against COVID-19. Studies have shown that budesonide, if taken early enough, improves recovery time in outpatients with COVID-19 and may reduce hospitalizations and deaths. The combination could be effective for the first, viral replication stage of the infection and could also decrease the impact of the later, inflammatory stage that can start a few days later.  

This is the fifth arm tested by ANTICOV. ANTICOV is an ‘adaptive platform’ trial, a flexible and innovative trial design that allows for treatments to be added or removed as new evidence emerges. Data from the ANTICOV trial has already demonstrated that the drug combination nitazoxanide and ciclesonide has low probability of reducing the risk of hospitalization in COVID-19 outpatients in comparison with paracetamol. 

The selection of drugs for ANTICOV is informed by reviews conducted by the expert working group of the Unitaid, Wellcome, and Global Fund-led Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Therapeutics Partnership. The study will soon expand to South Asia.  

Major funding for the ANTICOV consortium is provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through KfW and by the global health agency Unitaid as part of ACT-A. Additional support comes from the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) – under its second programme supported by the European Union with additional funding from the Swedish government – the Starr International Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

List of ANTICOV partners 

The ANTICOV consortium is mobilizing a wide network of diverse partners with recognised experience in clinical research. The 27 members of the ANTICOV consortium are: 

  • ALIMA (The Alliance for International Medical Action), France / Senegal 
  • ANRS | Maladies infectieuses émergentes, France 
  • Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia 
  • Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain 
  • Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin (BNITM), Germany 
  • Centre Muraz, Institut National de Santé Publique, Burkina Faso 
  • Centre for Research in Therapeutic Sciences, Kenya 
  • Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça, Mozambique 
  • Centro de Investigação e Treino em Saúde da Polana Caniço (CISPOC), Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Mozambique 
  • Centre Pasteur du Cameroun (CPC), Cameroon 
  • Centre Pour Le Développement Des Vaccins, Ministry of Health, Mali 
  • Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques (CSRS), Côte d’Ivoire 
  • Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), Switzerland (coordinating partner) 
  • Epicentre, France 
  • FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, Switzerland 
  • Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania 
  • Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), United Kingdom 
  • Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, Sudan 
  • Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp (ITM), Belgium 
  • Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), Democratic Republic of Congo 
  • The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Kenya 
  • Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Ghana 
  • Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), Switzerland 
  • Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Switzerland 
  • TOGETHER trial, Brazil, Canada 
  • Université de Bordeaux – Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), France 
  • University of Gondar, Ethiopia 

ANTICOV’s innovative and flexible platform trial has been designed by Berry Consultants, LLC, a statistical consulting company specializing in the Bayesian approach to medical statistics. 

About DNDi

A not-for-profit research and development organization, DNDi  works to deliver new treatments for neglected patients, those living with Chagas disease, sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis), leishmaniasis, filarial infections, mycetoma, paediatric HIV, and hepatitis C. DNDi is also coordinating the ANTICOV clinical trial to find treatments for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases in low-resource settings. Since its inception in 2003, DNDi  has delivered twelve new treatments to date, including new drug combinations for kala-azar, two fixed-dose antimalarials, and DNDi’s first successfully developed new chemical entity, fexinidazole, approved in 2018 for the treatment of both stages of sleeping sickness. dndi.org

About TOGETHER 

The TOGETHER Trial represents an international collaboration of diverse partners committed to preventing death and improving health outcomes for all people affected by COVID-19. Resources and expertise from all countries working in TOGETHER network are being brought to bear to identify new potential uses of new existing medications, which can be used to prevent COVID-19 related morbidity and mortality. This international trial is financially supported by a mix of biotechnology companies and private sector philanthropic agencies, which have dedicated financial resources to the fight against COVID-19 in low and middle-income countries. togethertrial.com  

Media contacts 

DNDi 

Frédéric Ojardias (Geneva) 
fojardias@dndi.org
+41 79 431 62 16  

Marcela Dobarro (Rio) 
mdobarro@dndi.org
+55 21 25 29 04 14 

Ilan Moss (New York) 
imoss@dndi.org
+1 646 266 5216 

TOGETHER 

Dr Edward Mills (Vancouver) 
Co-Principal Investigator, TOGETHER Trial 
emills@platformlifescineces.com  
+1 604 731 0688 

Photo credit: CardResearch, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Clinical trials Partnership COVID-19 Brazil

Read, watch, share

Loading...
Patient with healthcare worker in hospital
Press releases
30 Mar 2023

Eumycetoma: DNDi welcomes Japan’s GHIT Fund support for registration of new treatment for deeply neglected fungal disease

Davide Paparo and Ian Hausler with their thermotherapy device "CLARA"
Stories
16 Mar 2023

Cutaneous leishmaniasis: Swiss students develop innovative thermotherapy device for safer treatment of ‘flesh-eating parasite’

Stories
8 Mar 2023

Highlighting gender-based treatment gaps on International Women’s Day: Mary Alamak’s story

DNDi-GARDP Southern Africa director, Carol Ruffell (left), presents the December 2022 edition of HIV Nursing Matters and the 2022 paediatric ARV dosing chart to Bénédicte Schutz, Monaco’s Director of International Cooperation (centre), and Yordanos Pasquier, Monaco’s Deputy Director of International Cooperation (right).
News
3 Mar 2023

Working together to ensure optimal treatment for children living with HIV in South Africa

Nurse with patient
Press releases
1 Mar 2023

Fiocruz and DNDi sign strategic alliance agreement

Statements
28 Feb 2023

DNDi’s submission to the Technical Assessment component of the first Global Stocktake

Statements
22 Feb 2023

DNDi comments on the zero draft of the WHO CA+ for consideration of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body at INB4 & 5

Hat Platform Newsletter N°22 screenshot
Publications
22 Feb 2023

HAT Platform Newsletter No. 22

VIEW ALL

Help neglected patients

To date, we have delivered twelve new treatments, saving millions of lives.

Our goal is to deliver 25 new treatments in our first 25 years. You can help us get there. 

GIVE NOW
DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
Facebook-f
Twitter
Instagram
Linkedin-in
Youtube
International non-profit developing safe, effective, and affordable treatments for the most neglected patients.

Learn more

  • Diseases
  • Neglected tropical diseases
  • R&D portfolio
  • Policy advocacy

Get in touch

  • Our offices
  • Contact us
  • Integrity Line

Support us

  • Donate
  • Subscribe to eNews

Work with us

  • Join research networks
  • Jobs
  • RFPs
  • Terms of Use   
  •   Acceptable Use Policy   
  •   Privacy Policy   
  •   Cookie Policy   
  •   Our policies   

  • Except for images, films and trademarks which are subject to DNDi’s Terms of Use, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Switzerland License   
We use cookies to track our audience and improve our content. By clicking 'Accept All', you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click on 'Customize' to accept only some cookies.
Customize
REJECT ACCEPT ALL
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
elementorneverThis cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_16Q5RH3XRG2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_UA-10302561-11 minuteA variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to detect the first pageview session of a user. This is a True/False flag set by the cookie.
_hjFirstSeen30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit.
_hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's daily session limit.
_hjSession_112884430 minutesHotjar sets this cookie.
_hjSessionUser_11288441 yearHotjar sets this cookie.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Targeting
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo