RECOVERY Trial

[8] The primary objective of the trial is to "provide reliable estimates of the effect of study treatments on all-cause mortality at 28 days after first randomization".

The design minimizes the administrative load on hospital staff, who at the time were facing the prospect of overwhelming numbers of COVID-19 admissions.

The study is led by Peter Horby and Martin Landray who serve as Co-Chief Investigators of the trial.

[15][16] By July 2020, the trial was in progress at 176 NHS hospitals in the UK, involving many thousands of health professionals.

[20] A UK Therapeutic Alert was issued the same day, and all the Chief Medical Officers in the United Kingdom exceptionally recommended an immediate change of UK-wide clinical practice, in advance of publication of any final paper.

[22] Based on the preliminary, unpublished results of the RECOVERY trial, the US National Institutes of Health COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel recommended dexamethasone in patients with COVID-19 who are on mechanical ventilation or those who require supplemental oxygen, and recommended against dexamethasone for those not requiring supplemental oxygen.

[23] Other countries granted specific approval for the drug as part of standard medical care, among them Japan,[24] Taiwan[25] and South Africa.

[22] The results of this initial finding were replicated in a systematic review published in September 2020 by the WHO's Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies (REACT) Working Group.

[12] In June 2020, chief investigators of the trial reported there was no clinical benefit from use of lopinavir-ritonavir in 1,596 people hospitalized with severe COVID-19 infection over 28 days of treatment.

[40] A study published in January 2024 by the trial's chief investigators found that dimethyl fumarate did not significantly improve clinical outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.