After quickly identifying an existing medication would be an effective COVID-19 treatment using a large randomized clinical trial design, a leading epidemiologist has formed a new not-for-profit organization out of the U.K. to apply the same approach to other conditions.
Protas emerged Monday with Sanofi signed on as a strategic partner, and the company's overall goal is to design smarter trials that leverage new technologies and collaborations. The organization will be led by Professor Martin Landray, a 20-year veteran of conducting large clinical trials at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health.
Landray most recently was behind the Recovery clinical trial that identified the steroid dexamethasone as a treatment option to improve the chances of survival for patients with severe COVID-19.
With that experience in hand, Landray wants to apply the idea to develop better treatments for a laundry list of potential indications: heart, lung and respiratory disease, arthritis, cancer, depression and dementia.
Sanofi is putting up 5 million pounds in the collaboration, and additional funding will come in the form of a grant from NHS England. Protas said it expects more collaboration announcements like the Sanofi tie-up “over the coming months.”
The plan is to design large, inclusive randomized clinical trials at a fraction of current costs, “radically” readjusting the economics of late-stage research, according to the release.
Protas will spend 2022 building out its organization, technology and collaborations. Initial trials are expected to be designed in 2023.