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The DEN-HOST trial - a multi-site, placebo-controlled, randomised adaptive trial - is being delivered through a collaboration between the Pandemic Sciences Institute, the Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and REsponse (PREPARE) under the Communicable Diseases Agency in Singapore, and the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU). It will initially involve trial sites in ten countries across Asia and Latin America, where dengue is endemic and represents a major public health burden. The trial is funded by Wellcome, with support from PREPARE.
Dengue is a major and growing health problem. It is estimated that 40% of the world’s population live in dengue endemic areas. There are an estimated 105 million symptomatic dengue infections every year, and 40,000 deaths, with cases having increased tenfold over the past two decades. Although dengue vaccines offer some hope, it remains a leading cause of hospitalisation in affected regions, and there are currently no licensed antiviral or adjunctive therapies to treat the disease.
The DEN-HOST trial will initially test three promising treatments: baricitinib, dexamethasone, and N-acetylcysteine. The trial will assess whether these host-directed therapeutics can prevent disease progression and improve clinical outcomes for patients hospitalised with moderate-severe dengue. N-acetylcysteine will be trialled in a subgroup of patients with moderate or severe liver damage.
Read the full story on the University of Oxford website.