ECRAID-Prime: First patient enrolled in France

The ECRAID-Prime trial has successfully recruited its first patient marking a significant milestone in the clinical research on early treatment of COVID-19 and COVID-like illness in the primary care setting.

Currently being implemented by primary care teams in seven countries across Europe, this innovative trial is Europe's first-of-its-kind focussing on therapeutics to treat patients with COVID-19 and COVID-like illness in the primary care setting.

The first study within ECRAID-Prime is designed to assess the efficacy of Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) compared with intranasal saline, and intranasal saline compared with usual clinical care, in patients with COVID-19 and COVID-like illness. Compared to traditional trials, the adaptive platform trial protocol allows multiple investigational products or treatments for the same condition to be tested simultaneously, with the flexibility to add new interventions as they are developed. This enables healthcare providers to refine their strategies in response to future outbreaks or pandemics.

“After long months of waiting for regulatory approvals, our first patient was included just a few hours after activation. This demonstrates the tremendous motivation of the French coordination team and our network of general practitioners! There's still a long way to go, but we couldn't have wished for a better start than having included our first patient in Europe.”

– Elodie Pfender, National Coordinating Team at CHU Limoges, France

Strengthening Europe’s research readiness

This milestone reflects the hard work and dedication of our entire team, the operational team at Ecraid, the coordinating teams in the seven countries and their primary care sites, shares Trial lead, Alike van der Velden. “The burden of COVID-19 and COVID-like illnesses are greatest in the community and primary care settings, where early treatment can have the most profound impact.”

Although new antiviral agents are entering the market, it is imperative that the search for better treatments continue. Principle investigator Chris Butler adds, “Many new antiviral drugs are costly, require specific diagnostics before use, and come with significant drug interactions and exclusions. Our work is focussed on finding effective, affordable, low-risk treatments, which can be prescribed in primary care without diagnostic testing, thereby making them available to those who need them most.”

As the trial expands to more countries, both Alike and Chris are optimistic about the future. Alike says, “By recruiting more patients and exploring new treatments, we are not only advancing our fight against currently circulating respiratory viruses, but also strengthening Europe’s research readiness for future outbreaks.”