Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

The current outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a global health emergency with a case fatality rate so far approximately 4% and a growing number of confirmed cases (\>9500) in Germany. There is no data available on the efficacy of antiviral agents for the treatment of COVID-19. In vitro data show that hydroxychloroquine can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication and anecdotal reports from COVID-19 patients in China and France suggest that chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine is a good candidate for treatment. In the French study a favourable effect was seen when hydroxychloroquine was used together with azithromycin in a small series of COVID-19 patients. However, so far all published evidence is based on non-controlled use of hydroxychloroquine. We propose to conduct a placebo-controlled trial in COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate disease in Germany to assess virological efficacy, tolerability and safety of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. The objective of this trial is to identify an effect of hydroxychloroquine on viral clearance in vivo. This data will inform practice for the design of larger trials on clinical efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19.