Spring 2020 Newsletter: COVID-19 update

Spring 2020 Newsletter: COVID-19 update

Spring 2020 Newsletter: COVID-19 update

Dear Patient,

We hope you’re keeping well during this period.

St Pancras Clinical Research has had an eventful couple of months since our last newsletter. We had our launch event for our new site in February, where we welcomed our pharmaceutical clients, friends and family of SPCR to celebrate our exciting new clinic and head office. Whilst this has been an exciting few months, it has also been a tumultuous time globally and nationally for us all. We would like to thank the NHS, the police, our army and everyone who has had a role in keeping our nation safe. We also hope that you are staying safe and taking care during this period of isolation. In light of this, we have decided to make this newsletter a source of support and positivity.

In the coming weeks, we will be sharing the latest and most exciting developments in vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, along with interesting snippets on things such as the origins of viruses, the microbes used in the testing process, and most importantly, the positive and heart-warming stories that have emerged amidst all of this.

Sadly, clinical trials all over the world are being postponed, delayed or closed early. This is to ensure the health and safety of all clinical trial participants whilst COVID-19 is an active problem. The most important part of clinical research is the safety of everyone taking part and the pharmaceutical world is working hard to ensure that trial participants are being appropriately supported through this period.

A lot of those who come to us have underlying health conditions which place them in the vulnerable category, and in the current circumstances we are not inviting anyone to come to our clinic to get involved in research for now. This is however a temporary adjournment, and we will be ready to hit the ground running as soon as it is safe to do so in line with Government guidelines.

We will have a lot of exciting new studies beginning, and the continuing of existing studies as soon as possible. In the meantime, we want to keep in touch with you through uplifting news and helpful articles on navigating our temporary new normal together.

First, a good news roundup!

Capt Tom Moore raises £12 million for the NHS by completing laps of his garden

Air pollution levels have fallen dramatically in the UK, and around the world.

There has been a sharp spike in applications to foster shelter animals

Over 750,000 of us signed up to help the NHS. Tasks are beginning for our army of volunteers.

Alpacas visit care home residents in Scotland

We’ve developed a resources hub we hope will be of use during this difficult period. Some helpful aspects include:

  • Information about Covid-19 and the clinical trials actively looking to find a suitable vaccine or treatment
  • How Covid-19 is affecting our clinical trials
  • Resources on how to approach Covid-19 when you have diabetes, dementia or CRPS. You can also read these below.

Resources For Living Well With Dementia During Self Isolation:

  1. Healthline’s 5 tips on caring for a person with Alzheimer’s during the outbreak
  2. Alzheimer’s society – practical tips for people living with dementia
  3. Age UK – staying safe and looking after your mental health during the coronavirus 
  4. Mind – coronavirus and your wellbeing
  5. Tips on improving your circadian rhythm during the outbreak

Coronavirus and CRPS: How To Navigate COVID-19 With a Chronic Illness

  1. Homemade hand sanitiser recipes
  2. British Pain Society COVID-19 update
  3. Coping with coronavirus fear and anxiety whilst living with a chronic illness
  4. Burning Nights COVID-19 update
  5. Mindfulness and the coronavirus – how we can help navigate fear by being mindful

Staying Healthy With Diabetes During Lockdown 

  1. Diabetes UK – am I at greater risk?
  2. Diabetic Danica on Youtube – an uplifting video from a diabetes educator and nurse
  3. A twitter taskforce has been assembled to assist diabetics online
  4. Coronavirus coping strategies from a psychiatrist

Arthritis, Autoimmunity and COVID-19

  1. National rheumatoid arthritis society COVID-19 guidelines and advice
  2. Versus Arthritis- Assessing your risk
  3. How to ease feelings of panic during the outbreak
  4. The best way to deal with trying times and the importance of perspective

If you’d like some more information on vaccine and treatment efforts, continue reading. If you think you’ve maybe been reading too much about what is happening, take a break and open this newsletter back up when you feel like it. 

Can we treat COVID-19?

As it stands, there are no proven treatments or vaccines for COVID-19. However, there are a lot of clinical trials taking place around the world that are testing new medicines or repurposing existing ones in the hopes of successfully treating the illness caused by COVID-19.

The most hopeful of these treatments so far is remdesivir, the antiviral medication developed by Gilead Sciences in response to the Ebola outbreak of 2014. Data collected from clinical trials of the medicine taking place around the world, including in the UK, has shown that there is the potential for this drug to delay and treat the infection, but we do not know this for certain and we won’t for quite some time. The medicine is currently being used “compassionately” in Europe, but again this doesn’t tell us with certainty of its benefits in treating COVID-19. There are also limitations to the data we have so far on remdesivir.

More results from the studies testing the medicine on COVID-19 patients will be released at the end of this month.

What about Chloroquine and it’s less toxic derivative, Hydroxychloroquine?

The excitement surrounding the anti-malaria medication is to be treated with caution. A flawed study which made its way to the US President is responsible for a slew of misinformation on what the treatment is capable of achieving in COVID-19 patients. Like all other treatments, we do not know if this drug works yet, but the data so far suggests that it is a potential line of treatment worth investigating.

What we can say right now, is that chloroquine is not the panacea. A comprehensive review on the situation surrounding chloroquine can be read here.

Remember, we’re only a phone call away if you have any queries or concerns about your study. You can contact us on

020 3865 1142 or alternatively email [email protected]Take care!

From all of us at St Pancras Clinical Research

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