The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has approved the recruitment of further participants for an Oxford trial investigating the use of hydroxychloroquine to prevent Covid-19.

On June 8 the MHRA instructed UK researchers to suspend recruitment onto all hydroxychloroquine trials until further safety measures had been introduced.

The University of Oxford submitted a request to the MHRA on Jun 17 asking for permission to recommence recruitment to the ‘COPCOV’ trial exploring the use of hydroxychloroquine to prevent Covid-19.

After assessing the supporting evidence, the MHRA said on June 26 that it was satisfied with the additional risk mitigations that had been put in place to protect trial subjects.

“Participant safety is our priority, so we will continue to monitor the trial to ensure ongoing appropriate measures are in place to maintain continued high levels of safety,” said MHRA director of licensing Dr Siu Ping Lam.