April 12, 2021

results from the PRINCIPLE trial on inhaled budesonide in COVID-19 patients in the community

PRINCIPLE is a phase 3 randomised controlled trial assessing potential COVID-19 treatments in community settings (non-hospitalised people).

The scientists running the PRINCIPLE trial have been investigating whether the inhaled drug budesonide, a common corticosteroid used as an asthma treatment, has an impact on recovery time in patients in the community with COVID-19 symptoms.

The STOIC trial (a phase 2 trial) reported its results on this drug in February; now the first results are in from PRINCIPLE (which is phase 3 and had more participants).

Please note this data is a preprint, so it is early work that has not yet been through peer-review and is not published in a journal. 

Journalists dialled in to this briefing to hear the PRINCIPLE triallists describe their results.

Speakers included:

Prof Chris Butler, Professor of Primary Care, PRINCIPLE Joint Chief Investigator, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford

Associate Professor Mona Bafadhel, Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Chief Investigator of the STOIC Trial, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford

Associate Professor Gail Hayward, PRINCIPLE Trial Co-Principal Investigator, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford

Dr Jienchi Dorward, PRINCIPLE Trial Investigator, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Science, University of Oxford

Associate Professor Ly-Mee Yu, Lead Trial Statistician and PRINCIPLE Trial Investigator, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Science, University of Oxford

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of Comments.