Source: Memorial University

Memorial University’s Faculty of Medicine is part of the national network collaborating on a $10-million research initiative funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

On July 7, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, announced an investment of $10 million under the collaboration between CIHR, Health Canada and PHAC to create a pan-Canadian platform to advance research into the effectiveness and clinical challenges of new COVID-19 treatments in non-hospitalized patients.

The Canadian ADAptive Platform Trial of COVID-19 Therapeutics in Community Settings (Can-ADAPT COVID) will be led by Dr. Andrew Pinto, director of the Upstream Lab at St. Michael’s Hospital and a professor at the University of Toronto.

At Memorial University, Dr. Peter Daley is the Newfoundland and Labrador project lead. Drs. Kris Aubrey-Bassler and Jordan Stone-McLean will assist, especially with the family practice and emergency recruitment specifically.

In collaboration with patients, community partners, and research networks across Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union, Dr. Pinto and his team will investigate outpatient medications for COVID-19 such as nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and provide key insights into whether treatments prevent hospitalization and post COVID-19 condition or long COVID.

“This research will provide new insights and timely evidence in support of public health and clinical decision making for the effective roll out of new antiviral medications developed to treat non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients,” said Dr. Tammy Clifford, vice president of Research — Learning Health Systems at CIHR in a government release.