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Cannabidiol in Patients With COVID-19 and Cardiovascular Disease or Risk Factors

Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of CardiolRx™ in Patients With COVID-19 and Cardiovascular Disease or Risk Factors A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial

Status
Terminated
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04615949
Enrollment
90
Registered
2020-11-04
Start date
2021-04-30
Completion date
2022-11-30
Last updated
2026-04-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cardiovascular Diseases, Cardiovascular Risk Factor, COVID-19

Brief summary

Non-critical patients, hospitalized within the previous 24 hours who tested positive for COVID-19 and have a prior history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and/or significant risk factors for CVD will be treated for 28 days.

Detailed description

Multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel group design. 1:1 randomization. Screening (Day 0-1): Patients hospitalized for COVID-19 within the past 24 hours will be screened. If patient consent can be obtained, baseline assessments will be carried out: Physical examination (including vital signs), ECG including QTc interval assessment, echocardiogram to measure left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), chest X-ray, local laboratory (including CBC, AST/ALT, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, creatinine/eGFR, INR, pregnancy test (in women with child-bearing potential only), lymphocyte count and LDH. A C-SSRS will also be completed. Frozen plasma will be retained for central analysis of CardiolRx™ levels, hs-troponin, NT-proBNP, D-dimer as well as inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, ferritin, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-10). If all eligibility criteria are met, the patient will be randomized to either CardiolRx™ or placebo. Study treatment will be initiated immediately after all baseline assessments have been completed and the patient is randomized (Day1). Oral administration is as follows: * Day 1 and Day 2: Initial dose: 2.5 mg/kg of body weight b.i.d. with food: CardiolRx™ or placebo * Day 3 and Day 4: Increased to 5 mg/kg of body weight b.i.d. with food: CardiolRx™ or placebo * Day 5 to Day 28: Increased to 7.5 mg/kg of body weight b.i.d. with food: CardiolRx™ or placebo For the first 7 days and on Day 10, an ECG will be recorded 4 hours post morning dose with QTc intervals measured. If the QTc interval is \>500 msec or an increase of \> 60 msec from baseline is observed, the study medication must be stopped immediately. If the next higher dose is not tolerated for other reasons, the dose will be reduced to the previous tolerated dose. The highest tolerated dose will be administered until Day 28. If the patient is discharged before Day 10, the assessments up to Day 10 will be carried out as home visits. After Day 10, all remaining scheduled assessments will be carried out during out-patient visits (or home visits, if out-patient visits are not feasible). In addition to prolongation of the QTc intervals, careful observation is required to detect other Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) and Drug-Drug Interactions (DDIs). Because CardiolRx™, may inhibit the metabolism of other drugs, new symptoms may represent toxicity from a concomitant medication that had previously been well tolerated. A nasopharyngeal swab will also be done every day until Day 7 and on Day 14 to test for presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. After Day 7, assessments will be carried out on a weekly basis except for as noted above on Day 10. Frozen plasma will be retained for central analysis of CardiolRx™ levels, hs-troponin, NT-proBNP, D-dimer, inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, ferritin, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-10) and additional parameters of interest every two days until Day 7 as well as on day 28. The assessments on Day 28 include the following: Physical examination (including vital signs), ECG (recorded 4 hours post morning dose for measurement of QTc interval), echocardiogram to measure LVEF, chest X-ray, local laboratory assessments, including CBC, AST/ALT, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, creatinine/eGFR, INR, lymphocyte count and LDH. In addition, a C-SSRS will be completed and the patient will be asked to answer a PICQ. Further follow-up visits are scheduled for Day 45 and Day 60 post randomization. These include a clinical assessment (including vital signs) as well as the completion of the PICQ (PICQ on Day 60 only). Any changes in concomitant medications and (S)AEs will also be recorded.

Interventions

DRUGCannabidiol, pharmaceutically produced with < 5 ppm THC

CardiolRx 2.5 mg/kg to 7.5 mg/kg of body weight b.i.d taken orally with food

DRUGPlacebo

Placebo 2.5 mg/kg to 7.5 mg/kg of body weight b.i.d taken orally with food

Sponsors

Cardiol Therapeutics Inc.
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

double-blind

Intervention model description

Double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study, randomization 1:1

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1\. Males and females 18 years of age or older 2. Hospitalized for COVID-19 with the most recent test positive\*; not receiving or likely to receive invasive mechanical ventilation within the next 24 hours 3. Prior history of at least one of: i) CVD \[cardiovascular (CV), cerebrovascular or peripheral vascular diagnoses\], ii) Age \> 64, iii) Diabetes (DM), iv) Hypertension (HTN), v) Abnormal serum lipids, vi) Obesity (BMI \> or equal 30 or waist circumference \>102 cm \[40"\] for men and \>88 cm \[35"\] for women), vii) Current smoker \* Must be PCR test.

Exclusion criteria

1. Patients who have received vasopressors, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and mechanical ventilation within last 30 days 2. Background of cardiac transplant surgery 3. Implanted defibrillator (ICD) in the last three months 4. Implanted left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) 5. Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) within 30 days 6. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 30 days 7. Receiving any immuno-suppressive agent other than dexamethasone 8. History of QTc interval prolongation 9. QTc interval \> 500 msec 10. Treated with strong inducers of CYP3A4 or CYP2C19 11. Chronic renal failure, determined as eGFR \< 30 ml/min 12. Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) \> 5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) or ALT or AST \>3x ULN plus bilirubin \>2x ULN 13. Bacterial sepsis, defined as documented bacteremia at the time of presentation or other active bacterial infection 14. Current participation in any research study involving investigational drugs or devices with the exception of dexamethasone, remdesivir, baricitinib plus remdesivir, convalescent plasma or monoclonal antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus or any other therapy approved under emergency use in the region for treatment of COVID-19 15. Inability or unwillingness to give informed consent 16. Ongoing drug, alcohol or cannabis abuse 17. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding 18. Any factor, which would make it unlikely that the patient can comply with the study procedures 19. Hemoglobin \<8.5 gm/dL 20. Leukocyte count \< 3000/ mm3 21. Platelets \< 100,000 / mm3 22. Current diagnosis of cancer, with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancer 23. Showing suicidal tendency as per the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) administered at screening 24. Any cannabinoid intake in the past month 25. Body weight \> 170 kg

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Composite of All-cause Mortality, Requirement for ICU Admission and/or Ventillatory Support and Cardiovascular Complications28 days post randomizationProportions of patients in each group not having one of the outcome measures as described above (All-cause mortality, requirement for ICU admission and/or ventillatory support and cardiovascular complications)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Ordinal Outcome Scale28 daysOrdinal Outcome Scale: 1. Not hospitalized and no limitations of activities. 2. Not hospitalized, with limitation of activities, home oxygen requirement, or both. 3. Hospitalized, not requiring supplemental oxygen and no longer requiring ongoing medical care. 4. Hospitalized, not requiring supplemental oxygen but requiring ongoing medical care. 5. Hospitalized, requiring any supplemental oxygen. 6. Hospitalized, requiring noninvasive ventilation or use of high-flow oxygen devices. 7. Hospitalized, receiving invasive mechanical ventilation or ECMO. 8. MI or stroke diagnosed since randomization. 9. Death.

Countries

Brazil, Mexico, United States

Contacts

STUDY_CHAIRDennis McNamara, MD

University of Pittsburgh

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Cannabidiol, Pharmaceutically Produced With < 5 Ppm THC
CardiolRx Cannabidiol, pharmaceutically produced with \< 5 ppm THC: CardiolRx 2.5 mg/kg to 7.5 mg/kg of body weight b.i.d taken orally with food
45
Placebo
Placebo Placebo: Placebo 2.5 mg/kg to 7.5 mg/kg of body weight b.i.d taken orally with food
45
Total90

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicPlaceboTotalCannabidiol, Pharmaceutically Produced With < 5 Ppm THC
Age, Continuous62.0 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 12.95
61.2 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 13.89
60.4 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 14.86
Diabetes19 Participants36 Participants17 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
42 Participants84 Participants42 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
3 Participants6 Participants3 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Hyperlipidemia9 Participants16 Participants7 Participants
Hypertension30 Participants60 Participants30 Participants
Obesity23 Participants42 Participants19 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
3 Participants5 Participants2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
15 Participants30 Participants15 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
27 Participants55 Participants28 Participants
Region of Enrollment
Brazil
4 participants10 participants6 participants
Region of Enrollment
Mexico
15 participants29 participants14 participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
26 participants51 participants25 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
20 Participants39 Participants19 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
25 Participants51 Participants26 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 452 / 44
other
Total, other adverse events
24 / 4523 / 44
serious
Total, serious adverse events
5 / 454 / 44

Outcome results

Primary

All-cause Mortality

Proportions of patients not surviving

Time frame: 28 days post randomization

Population: ITT

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Cannabidiol, Pharmaceutically Produced With < 5 Ppm THCAll-cause Mortality0 Participants
PlaceboAll-cause Mortality2 Participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 22, 2026