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Background: Reliable biomarkers of COVID-19 severity and outcomes are critically needed for clinical and research applications. We evaluated associations between anti-Spike IgG and SARS-COV-2 nucleocapsid antigen (N Ag) in plasma with clinical outcomes in outpatients with COVID-19. Method(s): We used data from 229 non-hospitalized, US-based adults with COVID-19 who enrolled between January and July 2021 into the placebo arm of the ACTIV-2/A5401 platform trial within 10 days of symptom onset. Pretreatment (day 0) plasma was analyzed by the quantitative Simoa SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody (anti-Spike) assay (lower limit of quantification [LLoQ] 0.77ug/ mL), and the quantitative Simoa SARS-CoV-2 N Protein Advantage (Quanterix) measuring N Ag (LLoQ 3pg/mL). In addition to analyses for < LLoQ vs >=LLoQ anti-Spike and N Ag, we categorized participants into five N Ag groups (< 3 pg/ml;3-< 100 pg/ml;100-< 1,000 pg/ml;1,000-< 2,500 pg/ml;>=2,500 pg/ ml). Associations between SARS-CoV-2 anti-Spike and N Ag levels and clinical outcomes (all-cause hospitalization/death through day 28 and time to symptom improvement or resolution for two consecutive days from day 0 status) were estimated using log-binomial and Cox regression models, respectively. Result(s): At day 0, 40% had anti-Spike levels >=LLoQ and 64% of participants had plasma N Ag levels >=LLoQ. Participants with anti-Spike levels < LLoQ compared to those who had quantifiable anti-Spike at day 0, had an increased risk of hospitalization/death (16% vs 2%, RR [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 7.3 [1.8, 30.1]), and a significantly longer time to symptom improvement (median [Q1, Q3] 14 days [8, >27] vs 9 days [4, 16], hazard ratio [HR]: 0.6 [95%: CI: 0.4, 0.8], p< 0.001). Participants with higher N Ag levels at day 0 had an increased risk of hospitalization or death, ranging from 1% for < 3 pg/ml to 70% for >=2500 pg/ml (Figure). Compared to individuals who had N Ag levels < LLoQ at day 0, those in the highest category of N Ag levels (>=2500 pg/mL) experienced a significantly longer time to symptom improvement (median [Q1, Q3]: 25 days [13, >27] vs 10 days [5, 20];HR: 0.4 [95% CI: 0.2, 0.7];p=0.04). Conclusion(s): At study entry, the absence of Spike antibodies and higher levels of plasma SARS-CoV-2 N Ag predicted hospitalizations and death in untreated outpatients with COVID-19. These parameters may serve as informative biomarkers for risk stratification in the evaluation of outpatients with COVID-19. (Figure Presented).
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Background: Whether early antiviral therapy reduces the risk of Long COVID is not known. The combination SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies amubarvimab+romlusevimab (A+R) were highly effective in reducing 28-day all-cause hospitalization/death among high-risk adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in the randomized, placebo-controlled ACTIV-2/A5401 trial. We assessed the impact of A+R on late outcomes including Long COVID in ACTIV-2. Method(s): A long-term (LT) symptom diary and 2 health-related quality of life questionnaires (EQ-5D-5L and SF-36v2) were completed at week 36. The primary analysis compared the proportion of participants with the composite outcome of self-reported Long COVID (having any COVID-19 symptoms present on a global assessment question in LT diary) at week 36, or hospitalization or death by week 36 between A+R and placebo using regression models with inverse probability weighting to account for incomplete outcome data;supplemental analysis compared the proportion with Long COVID among those alive. Other analyses were restricted to observed data only. Result(s): 807 were randomized and received A+R (n=405) or placebo (n=402) from Jan-July 2021. At entry, median age was 49 years, 51% were female, >99% cis-gender, 17% Black/African American, 50% Hispanic/Latino, and 9% previously received COVID vaccination. 70 (17%) on A+R and 93 (23%) on placebo met the primary outcome;113 (14%) had incomplete data for determining the outcome (Figure 1). Accounting for incomplete data, weighted Risk Ratio [wRR]=0.74;95% CI: 0.56, 0.97;p=0.03. The difference was driven by fewer hospitalizations/deaths in the A+R arm (5%) than placebo arm (15%), particularly by day 28. Excluding 12 participants who died by week 36, frequency of Long COVID was similar in the arms, 16% for A+R and 14% for placebo (wRR=1.09;95%CI: 0.75, 1.58;p=0.64). There were no differences in the proportions reporting return to pre-COVID health (global assessment) or individual symptoms, or in number of symptoms reported or distribution of worst symptom severity. RRs favored the A+R arm on several EQ-5D-5L domains, but none met statistical significance. No differences were observed on SF-36v2 assessments. Conclusion(s): While A+R was highly effective in preventing all-cause hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk outpatients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, there was no meaningful effect of treatment on measures of Long COVID at 36 weeks. Additional interventions are needed for Long COVID prevention. (Figure Presented).
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Background: Camostat, an oral protease inhibitor, blocks entry and replication of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. It is approved for therapy of recurrent pancreatitis in several countries. Camostat has an excellent safety profile and repurposing for COVID-19 treatment was proposed. Methods: We conducted a Phase II randomized, placebo-controlled trial of camostat in adult outpatients with confirmed COVID-19 and one or more risk factors for severe disease (including age ≥65 years, severe obesity, hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung, heart or liver disease). Participants were randomized 2:1 to oral camostat 200 mg or matching placebo four times a day for 14 days. Exclusion criteria were end-stage liver disease, severe renal impairment, oxygen saturation ≤94% on room air, and experimental treatment for COVID-19. The primary efficacy endpoint was hospitalization or death within 28 days. Secondary efficacy included positivity for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR on mid-nasal turbinate swabs on days 7 and 15 compared to baseline. Results: We enrolled 295 participants, 57.3% were female, 15.6% Black and 60% Latinx. Mean age was 51 years (18-93 years). Most (75.3%) were randomized ≤5 days after symptom onset. Common risk factors were hypertension (63.4%), chronic lung disease (33.2%) and diabetes (25.4%), with 46.8% having >1 risk factor. With a lower than anticipated event rate, the primary endpoint of hospitalization or death was not significantly different in the camostat (5.3%, 10/194) and placebo groups (6.1%, 6/99;p=0.78). In the intention-to-treat population, there was a trend towards a lower proportion of PCR positivity in the camostat compared to the placebo group at day 7 (65.2% vs. 75.7%, p=0.12) and day 15 (22.0% vs. 34.3%, p=0.06). Similarly, in a post hoc as treated population, fewer participants in the camostat than in the placebo group remained PCR positive at day 7 (64.7%, 88/136 vs. 76.8%, 53/96;p=0.077) and day 15 (21.8%, 29/133, vs. 34.8%, 23/66;p=0.05). Adverse events occurred in 13% of participants in the placebo and 9% in the camostat group. All severe adverse events (5% in both groups) were related to COVID-19. Conclusion: With a low overall event rate, we did not observe a decrease in risk of hospitalization or death in camostat treated outpatients with COVID-19 at risk for severe disease. SARS-CoV-2 PCR turned negative faster on camostat treatment. Camostat was well tolerated.
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Background: Camostat, a serine protease inhibitor, prevents activation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and blocks SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. We studied the safety and antiviral and clinical efficacy of orally administered camostat in non-hospitalized adults with mild-moderate COVID-19. Methods: ACTIV-2/A5401 is a platform trial to evaluate therapies for non-hospitalized adults with mild-moderate COVID-19. In a Phase II portion of the study, participants were enrolled within 10 days of COVID-19 related symptom onset and randomized to camostat 200 mg orally every 6 hours for 7 days or the pooled placebo group. Objectives were to evaluate the safety and efficacy of camostat to reduce the duration of COVID-19 symptoms and increase the proportion of participants with SARS-CoV-2 RNA below the lower limit of quantification (LLoQ) from nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs on days 3, 7, and 14. Participants completed a study diary from day 0 to day 28 scoring COVID-19 symptoms as absent, mild, moderate, or severe. Results: Of the 224 participants enrolled from 54 US sites, 215 participants (108 camostat, 107 placebo) initiated study intervention and formed the modified intent-to-treat population. Fifty-four percent were female, >99% cis-gender, 85% White, 9% Black, and 51% Latinx. Median age was 37 years;47% reported ≤5 days of symptoms at study entry and 26% met the protocol definition of higher risk of progression to severe COVID-19. Most frequent symptoms on day 0 were cough (86%), fatigue (85%), nasal obstruction/congestion (71%) and body/muscle aches (71%). There was no significant difference between camostat and placebo arms in grade 3 or higher adverse events (7.4% vs. 6.5%, respectively). Median (Q1, Q3) time to symptom improvement was 9 days for both camostat (5, 20) and placebo (6, 19). There were no significant differences in the proportion of participants with NP SARS-CoV-2 RNA<="" div=""> Conclusion: Camostat was well-tolerated. Despite compelling in vitro data, camostat did not show evidence of antiviral or clinical efficacy in ACTIV-2/A5401. This highlights the critical importance of randomized controlled trials in the evaluation of therapies for COVID-19.
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Background: Randomized COVID-19 trials provide opportunities to describe post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC)-related symptom burden longitudinally and assess the impact of early use of antivirals on PASC prevalence. Methods: ACTIV-2 evaluates safety and efficacy of investigational agents for non-hospitalized adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 in a Phase II/III trial. In Phase II, participants were randomized within 10 days of symptom onset and a positive SARS-CoV-2 virologic test to receive bamlanivimab (BAM) or placebo as a single infusion at 7000mg (n=94) or 700mg (n=225). In a subsequent single-arm open-label study, 1059 participants received 700mg BAM. Participants completed a 13-symptom daily diary from enrollment through Day 28. A long-term (LT) diary (14 additional symptoms) introduced after the study was underway was completed by a subset of individuals every 12 weeks. We report Week 24 findings. Results: Between Aug 2020 to Feb 2021 605 participants enrolled and completed LT diary at Week 24 [Phase II: 7000mg vs. placebo (n=25);700mg vs. placebo (n=68);single-arm open-label cohort: 700mg (n=512)]. Median age was 50 years, 51% female sex, 99% identified as cis-gender, 5% Black/African American, and 35% Hispanic/Latino. At enrollment, 53% reported ≥1 high-risk comorbidity and 0.3% were vaccinated against COVID-19. By Week 24, 14% (87/605) had not returned to their pre-COVID-19 health by self-report, with 57% (50/87) reporting ≥3 PASC symptoms. The most common symptoms were fatigue (45% of 87), smell disorder (36%), breathing difficulties (30%), taste disorders (25%), musculoskeletal pain (26%) or weakness (23%), and cognitive complaints: difficulty concentrating/thinking (30%), difficulty reasoning and solving problems (21%), memory loss (25%) and insomnia (23%). Most reported symptoms as "mild". Participants who reported acute viral illness symptoms between Days 22-28 were more likely to report PASC symptoms at Week 24 than those who did not report symptoms at Days 22-28 [51% (164/320) vs. 27% (76/285);p<0.0001]. Conclusion: In outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19, 14% had not returned to pre-COVID-19 health by 24 weeks post infection, with generally mild but multiple symptoms. Presence of acute viral illness symptoms at 3-4 weeks was associated with an increased risk of PASC symptoms months later. Larger placebo-controlled studies within ACTIV-2 will assess the potential for early antiviral therapies to mitigate or prevent PASC.
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[Figure: see text].