New clinical trial will study the effectiveness of metformin in treating COVID-19

Date posted: March 15, 2021

Today the University of Minnesota Medical School announced the launch of a multi-site clinical trial to study whether metformin, a widely used generic medicine for type 2 diabetes, could be an effective treatment for COVID-19. It will be the first randomized clinical trial for COVID-19 in the world to include pregnant women.

The clinical trial builds on earlier research using OptumLabs data that found use of metformin was linked to significantly reduced risk of COVID-19 death in women. The findings supported the launch of a small study late last year and, thanks to new funding, the research effort can now expand to include more than 1,000 patients.

“I am excited to participate in this study,” said Ken Cohen, MD, FACP, executive director of Translational Research, OptumLabs and co-investigator of the study, in a recent press release. “Finding an effective, safe, low-cost medication that could treat COVID-19 worldwide, particularly in countries with low healthcare resources, is a critically important endeavor.”