Adaptive platform trials in pandemics: Evaluating COVID-19 case studies and developing guidelines for future health emergencies

COVID-19 quickly became a global health issue, and we needed fast and effective ways to study potential treatments. While traditional clinical trials are reliable, they can sometimes be slow and costly. A newer approach called Adaptive Platform Trial (APT) is more flexible and can respond faster to new health crises. APTs proved invaluable in speeding up research during urgent times such as the COVID pandemic. In this study, we will be closely evaluating three specific APTs related to COVID-19: TOGETHER, PANORAMIC, and REMAP-CAP. Our main goal is to understand how these studies were designed, how they operated, and the results they achieved, all amidst the challenges of the pandemic. We're particularly interested in their innovative techniques and what proved successful or problematic. From what we learn in this first step, we will then draft a set of guidelines. These guidelines will help us set up and run similar trials quicker and more efficiently in the future, whether for other diseases or another pandemic. By doing so, we aim to ensure Canada is better prepared and can respond more rapidly in future health crises, leading to improved patient outcomes.