Sterling IMRES
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RecruitingInterventionalPhase 3

Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy

This is a registered study tracked in the Sterling IMRES research watch. It is sponsored by University of Oxford and run by the investigators named in the registry, not by Sterling IMRES. Details come from ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 21 April 2026.

Summary

RECOVERY is a large randomised, open-label platform trial led by the University of Oxford that has tested many treatments for patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, and has since added influenza and community-acquired pneumonia. Its pragmatic design, with minimal data collection and a shared control group, allowed rapid answers, including the finding that dexamethasone reduced deaths. It remains a reference model for efficient trial methodology.

Objectives

  • Evaluate multiple treatments in parallel within one adaptive platform to find which reduce death in patients hospitalised with pneumonia.
  • Extend the platform from COVID-19 to influenza and community-acquired pneumonia.

Methodology

Study design
Randomized, factorial assignment, open label, primary purpose: treatment
Conditions
Pneumonia
Interventions
Lopinavir-Ritonavir (drug); Corticosteroid (drug); Hydroxychloroquine (drug); Azithromycin (drug); Convalescent plasma (biological); Tocilizumab (drug); Immunoglobulin (biological); Synthetic neutralising antibodies (drug); Aspirin (drug); Colchicine (drug); Baricitinib (drug); Anakinra (drug); Dimethyl fumarate (drug); High Dose Corticosteroid (drug); Empagliflozin (drug); Sotrovimab (drug); Molnupiravir (drug); Paxlovid (drug); Baloxavir Marboxil (drug); Oseltamivir (drug); Corticosteroids (dexamethasone) (drug); Corticosteroids (dexamethasone) (drug)
Primary outcome
Community-acquired pneumonia: All-cause mortality (with subsidiary analyses of cause of death and of death at various timepoints following discharge)
Sample size
70,000 participants (estimated)
Locations
United Kingdom, Belgium, Estonia, France, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy

Team

Findings and resulting publications

  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Aspirin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet. 2022 Jan 8;399(10320):143-151. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01825-0. Epub 2021 Nov 17. PubMed 34800427
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Lopinavir-ritonavir in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet. 2020 Oct 24;396(10259):1345-1352. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32013-4. Epub 2020 Oct 5. PubMed 33031764
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Colchicine in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2021 Dec;9(12):1419-1426. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00435-5. Epub 2021 Oct 18. PubMed 34672950
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group; Horby P, Lim WS, Emberson JR, Mafham M, Bell JL, Linsell L, Staplin N, Brightling C, Ustianowski A, Elmahi E, Prudon B, Green C, Felton T, Chadwick D, Rege K, Fegan C, Chappell LC, Faust SN, Jaki T, Jeffery K, Montgomery A, Rowan K, Juszczak E, Baillie JK, Haynes R, Landray MJ. Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2021 Feb 25;384(8):693-704. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2021436. Epub 2020 Jul 17. PubMed 32678530
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group; Horby P, Mafham M, Linsell L, Bell JL, Staplin N, Emberson JR, Wiselka M, Ustianowski A, Elmahi E, Prudon B, Whitehouse T, Felton T, Williams J, Faccenda J, Underwood J, Baillie JK, Chappell LC, Faust SN, Jaki T, Jeffery K, Lim WS, Montgomery A, Rowan K, Tarning J, Watson JA, White NJ, Juszczak E, Haynes R, Landray MJ. Effect of Hydroxychloroquine in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020 Nov 19;383(21):2030-2040. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2022926. Epub 2020 Oct 8. PubMed 33031652
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet. 2021 Feb 13;397(10274):605-612. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00149-5. Epub 2021 Feb 2. PubMed 33545096
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Tocilizumab in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet. 2021 May 1;397(10285):1637-1645. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00676-0. PubMed 33933206
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet. 2021 May 29;397(10289):2049-2059. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00897-7. Epub 2021 May 14. PubMed 34000257
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Casirivimab and imdevimab in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet. 2022 Feb 12;399(10325):665-676. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00163-5. PubMed 35151397
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Baricitinib in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial and updated meta-analysis. Lancet. 2022 Jul 30;400(10349):359-368. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01109-6. PubMed 35908569
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Electronic address: recoverytrial@ndph.ox.ac.uk; RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Higher dose corticosteroids in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 who are hypoxic but not requiring ventilatory support (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet. 2023 May 6;401(10387):1499-1507. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00510-X. Epub 2023 Apr 13. PubMed 37060915
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Empagliflozin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2023 Dec;11(12):905-914. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(23)00253-X. Epub 2023 Oct 18. PubMed 37865101
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group; Horby PW, Peto L, Staplin N, Campbell M, Pessoa-Amorim G, Mafham M, Emberson JR, Stewart R, Prudon B, Uriel A, Green CA, Dhasmana DJ, Malein F, Majumdar J, Collini P, Shurmer J, Yates B, Baillie JK, Buch MH, Day J, Faust SN, Jaki T, Jeffery K, Juszczak E, Knight M, Lim WS, Montgomery A, Mumford A, Rowan K, Thwaites G, Haynes R, Landray MJ. Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Nat Commun. 2024 Jan 31;15(1):924. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43644-x. PubMed 38296965
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Molnupiravir or nirmatrelvir-ritonavir plus usual care versus usual care alone in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet Infect Dis. 2025 Sep;25(9):1000-1010. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00093-3. Epub 2025 May 15. PubMed 40383127
  • RECOVERY Collaborative Group. Sotrovimab versus usual care in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. Lancet Infect Dis. 2026 Jan;26(1):34-45. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00361-5. Epub 2025 Aug 28. PubMed 40886716

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