BetterLife Pharma Inc. announced that it has engaged the Clinical Research Organisation (“CRO”) Pharmaceutical Solutions Ltd. to manage its forthcoming clinical trial for AP-003 targeting mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 at research sites across Australia. The clinical trial, expected to start in late 2020, will compare AP-003, BetterLife’s inhaled recombinant human alpha 2b interferon (“IFN-a2b”) to placebo in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. Interferons are a natural part of the body’s innate immune system that are induced upon viral infection, providing the body’s first line of defence against the virus through suppression viral replication and activation of the immune response. Interferon production is inhibited by the virus responsible for COVID-19.AP-003 is hypothesized to bypass the COVID-19 induced interferon production blockade. BetterLife believes that its inhaled IFN-a2b, AP-003, could lessen the severity and duration of COVID-19 and decrease the need for hospital admissions. This approach to treatment of COVID-19 will be the first study of its kind to be performed in Australia. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial will take place across several research sites in Australia and will be managed by Pharmaceutical Solutions, a CRO that specialises in managing clinical trials in Australia and New Zealand. The trial will recruit 150 participants with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. BetterLife and Pharmaceutical Solutions will conduct the trial virtually to reduce the exposure of the investigative sites to COVID and allow the participant to remain at home. The trial will utilise video consultations, questionnaires, and mobile app technology. Virtual medical technology, or telemedicine, has seen a dramatic acceleration in use during the COVID-19 pandemic, with UK health professionals saying they’ve witnessed “10 years of change within weeks” in relation to running trials virtually.