A new 'Covid pill' that could prevent severe illness among people who've tested positive for the virus is being trialled at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Volunteers are being sought to test the new drug, known as Molnupiravir, as part of groundbreaking research into Covid-19 treatments.
Molnupiravir, taken orally in pill form, is an experimental antiviral that has been developed to treat infections caused by coronavirus as well as other infections such as flu.
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The project is part of the national 'AGILE' platform which aims to fast-track potential new therapies through early phase clinical trials.
Molnupiravir research will initially start the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) followed by Wythenshawe Hospital at a later date.
Dr Shazaad Ahmad, a consultant virologist and principal investigator of study at the MRI, said: "The UK’s Covid-19 vaccination programme has been impressive and has led to a decrease in infection and hospitalisation rates.
"However, it will not eradicate Covid-19 infections entirely, and it is therefore essential that we continue to find treatments for those people who do contract the virus to prevent them from developing severe disease.
“In order to carry out this vital research, we rely on volunteer trial participants to help us see which treatments will be most effective – which is why we asking people across Greater Manchester to consider taking part in the AGILE trial.”
The ground-breaking study opens at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) today.
Researchers are now actively recruiting participants for the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) arm of the study.
At MFT, both arms of the study will be delivered within the NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF), which provides a dedicated space and a safe, quality-assured environment, for delivering early phase research.
People can find out by emailing the AGILE study team on: CST2.agile@mft.nhs.uk.
