ReviewContemporary clinical trials2022
Implementation of platform trials in the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid review.
Review in Contemporary clinical trials, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Unlocking the Potential: A Systematic Review of Master Protocol in Pediatrics.Therapeutic innovation & regulatory science · 2024Pooled it
- Characteristics, Progression, and Output of Randomized Platform Trials: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- A rapid review of community engagement and informed consent processes for adaptive platform trials and alternative design trials for public health emergencies.Wellcome open research · 2023Pooled it
- Canadian adaptive platform trial of treatments for COVID in community settings (CanTreatCOVID): recruitment strategies of a decentralized, national randomized controlled trial for acute SARS-CoV-2.Frontiers in public health · 2026Trial
- Trial
- An umbrella protocol for the clinical evaluation of diagnostics in infectious disease.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2026Article
- Drug repurposing against viral infections (2020-2025): clinical trials, computational strategies, and therapeutic interventions.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Review
- Clinical Trial Simulation: Planning With the OCTAVE Framework, Implementation and Validation Principles.Statistics in medicine · 2026Article
- Logistical Challenges in Platform Randomized Trials - Operational Realities That Curb the Promise of Efficiency.Clinical epidemiology · 2026Article
- Drug Repurposing for Inclusion of COVID-19-Related Indication: Field Study of the European Medicines Agency's Response to the Pandemic.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A REDCap advanced randomization module to meet the needs of modern trials.Journal of biomedical informatics · 2025Article
- Article
- Master Protocol Design With Hybrid Control for Efficient Early-Phase Trial Consolidation.JCO precision oncology · 2025Article
- Master protocols in low- and middle-income countries: a review of current use, limitations and opportunities for precision medicine.BMJ global health · 2025Review
- Reserve antibiotics: overcoming limitations of evidence generated from regulatory approval trials.Globalization and health · 2025Review
- INCEPT: The Intensive Care Platform Trial-Design and protocol.Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Viewpoint: a white paper for a greener design, conduct and reporting of clinical trials in respiratory medicine.The European respiratory journal · 2025Article
- Why and how should we simulate platform trials? Learnings from EU-PEARL.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Article
- Transfusion in trauma: empiric or guided therapy?Research and practice in thrombosis and haemostasis · 2025Article
- An automated platform trial framework for A/B testing.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
motivationPlatform designs - master protocols that allow for new treatment arms to be added over time - have gained considerable attention in recent years. Between 2001 and 2019, 16 platform trials were initiated globally. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have provided a new motivation for these designs. We conducted a rapid review to quantify and describe platform trials used in COVID-19.
methodsWe cross-referenced PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the Cytel COVID-19 Clinical Trials Tracker to identify platform trials, defined by their stated ability to add future arms.
resultsWe identified 58 COVID-19 platform trials globally registered between January 2020 and May 2021. According to trial registries, 16 trials have added new therapies (median 3, IQR 4) and 11 have dropped arms (median 3, IQR 2.5). About 50% of trials publicly share their protocol, and 31 trials (53%) intend to share trial data. Forty-nine trials (84%) explicitly report adaptive features, and 21 trials (36%) state Bayesian methods.
conclusionsDuring the pandemic, there has been a surge in the number of platform trials compared to historical use. While transparency in statistical methods and clarity of data sharing policies needs improvement, platform trials appear particularly well-suited for rapid evidence generation. Trials secured funding quickly and many succeeded in adding new therapies in a short time period, thus demonstrating the potential for these trial designs to be implemented beyond the pandemic. The evidence gathered here may provide ample insight to further inform operational, statistical, and regulatory aspects of future platform trial conduct.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.