COVID-19 research led by Cambridge

This page gives details of the COVID-19 studies which were led by Cambridge.

PHOSP-COVID

The Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) is a consortium of leading researchers and clinicians from across the UK working together to understand and improve long-term health outcomes for patients who have been in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.

The NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility is currently recruiting to PHOSP-COVID.

Cov-Boost

In this study volunteers from the East of England will receive a third ‘booster’ COVID-19 vaccine at the NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility. It will be the first study in the world to provide vital data on the impact of a third dose on patients’ immune responses.

The trial will look at seven different COVID-19 vaccines (including the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BionTech, and Moderna vaccines) as potential boosters, given at least 10 to 12 weeks after a second dose as part of the ongoing vaccination programme. One booster will be provided to each volunteer and could be a different brand to the one they were originally vaccinated with.

Anyone interested in participating can find out more by signing up to the NHS COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry.

HEAL-COVID:

This study is jointly Sponsored by Cambridge University Hospitals and The University of Cambridge.

The acute effects of COVID-19 are now well described. Evidence is emerging of serious longer-term complications occurring in the convalescent phase of the illness in a significant proportion of patients; particularly cardiovascular and pulmonary complications.

Patients have reported a range of longer-term symptoms associated with Long COVID that have significant impacts on their quality of life.

To date, there has been little work evaluating treatments in the convalescent phase of COVID-19. HEAL-COVID aims to evaluate the impact of treatments on longer-term morbidity, mortality, re-hospitalisation, symptom burden and quality of life associated with COVID-19.

The first two treatment arms are Apixaban and Atorvastatin, with further treatment arms to be added at the direction of the UK COVID-19 Therapeutic Advisory Panel (UKCTAP).

TACTIC-E:

The TACTIC-E clinical trial is testing whether novel therapeutic agents or novel combinations of approved agents can prevent the development of severe symptoms in patients hospitalised with confirmed COVID-19.

The treatments currently being tested in TACTIC-E are:

• EDP1815
• Ambrisentan in combination with Dapagliflozin

As in TACTIC-R, this study has been designed to swap out and add in alternative treatments, based on emerging data as the trial progresses. Click to read: TACTIC-E trial to test whether a simple microbe could be an effective treatment for COVID-19

TACTIC-R:

This Cambridge-led, national trial will test whether two drugs that are already in use to treat other immune-related conditions can prevent the development of severe COVID-19 symptoms in patients admitted to hospital. Each of the drugs initially included in the trial, ravulizumab and baricitinib, target a different part of the over-active immune response thought to be the cause of severe COVID-19 disease. TACTIC-R is designed as a platform trial, so that further existing or new drugs that show promise for treating COVID-19 can easily be added to the trial. The chief investigator of TACTIC is Dr Frances Hall, Consultant Rheumatologist at Cambridge University Hospitals.

NIHR COVID-19 BioResource:

Creation of a cohort of COVID-19 patients to support research. Led by Professors Ken Smith and John Bradley, the NIHR COVID-19 BioResource allows patients admitted with suspected COVID-19 to participate in research by providing blood and other biological samples. Participants provide blood samples and nasal swabs, as well as consent to access their health records and completion of a short mental health questionnaire. Blood samples will undergo detailed analysis to assess immune responses to infection, in order to understand the determinants of disease course and severity. Combi ning these data with health records and genomic information will enable researchers to assess physical and mental health outcomes of infection.

• COPING study with NIHR BioResource:  This study is being run by King’s College London and the NIHR BioResource. The COPING study will assess the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on mental, physical and neurological health. Researchers are interested in how different factors associated with the virus are affecting the population. Members of the NIHR BioResource, GLAD Study and EDGI are being invited to take part in this study.If you have any questions or want further information on the study, you can contact the COPING Study team: COPINGstudy@kcl.ac.uk

COVIDx study:

Evaluation of a rapid test (diagnostic) for COVID-19 in clinical care. Led by Professor Ravindra Gupta and Dr Helen Lee, using the SAMBA-II machine. This technology was developed while Dr Lee was at Cambridge’s Department of Haematology and provides diagnostic information on the ward within 2 hours.

Health data research:

Using linkage of data from existing research cohorts such as NIHR BioResource to Public Health England and NHS-Digital in collaboration with HDRUK. Led by Professor John Danesh

COVID-19 Research for healthy volunteers and those with mild symptoms

The studies listed above are all recruiting patients who are hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. If you have experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms or have not had the infection, there are still a variety of ways that you can support essential COVID-19 research. The webpage accessed through the following link tells you more about opportunities to support research as a healthy volunteer.

More information about COVID-19 research in Cambridge

Researchers from across Cambridge are collaborating closely to understand COVID-19 better and identify successful diagnostics and treatments. The links below highlight how we are working with our partners on the Biomedical Campus and throughout Cambridge on these essential studies:

• COVID-19 research studies from the University of Cambridge Department of Public Health and Primary Care
• NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England COVID-19 Projects

Information for Research Teams

If you are a researcher in or around Cambridge who is looking for healthy volunteers for COVID-19 research or would like to involve our PPI panel in your research, please get in touch with the CUH R&D PPI and Communications team at cuh.brccomms@nhs.net.

In order to feature in this list, the study needs to be registered through CUH R&D and be recruiting patients from in and around Cambridge. Cambridge based researchers are welcome to involve the CUH PPI panel at any stage of their research project or proposal.