ISARIC 4C (Coronavirus Clinical Characterisation Consortium)

We are a UK-wide consortium of doctors and scientists committed to answering urgent questions about COVID-19 quickly, openly, and for the benefit of all.

• how long are people infectious, and what body fluids are infectious?
• what puts people at higher risk of severe illness?
• what is the best way to diagnose the disease?
• who should we treat early with drugs, and which drugs cause harm?
• does the immune system in some patients do more harm than good?
• what other infections(such as pneumonia or flu) happen at the same time?

Over the last 8 years we have been preparing for such a major outbreak worldwide International Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Consortium Clinical Characterisation Protocol; our team deployed immediately and has been collecting data and samples since the first cases were reported in the UK.

Funding

ISARIC 4C is funded by two major awards from UK Reasearch and Inovation (UKRI) and The National Institute For Health Research (NIHR). A grant from UKRI Medical Research Council with a total value of £5.9M to JK Baillie (PI), University of Edinburgh; MG Semple, University of Liverpool; and P Openshaw, Imperial College London (co-leads). Full list of investigators and specific deliverables. A grant from NIHR with a current value of £4.9M to MG Semple (CI), University of Liverpool; AD Docherty, University of Edinburgh, and CA Green, University of Birmingham. We share data and samples to get answers as fast as possible. We will not end this outbreak sitting on a biobank; our intention is to use every drop of every sample, now, to have the biggest possible impact on the COVID-19 crisis. Any investigators with the ability to contribute can access our data and samples. The ISARIC-4C study provides a foundation for other studies, such as clinical trials of new treatments, to help better understand the best way to use interventions.

Recruitment

We have recruited:

• 1772 patients at Tier 2 (serial sampling)
• 702 at Tier 1 (single sample)
• 77268 patients at Tier Zero (case report forms - source data for the COVID-19 Clinical Information Network (CO-CIN))
• Critically-ill patients can also be recruited to a sister study, the ISARIC GenOMICC study