A clinical trial of two existing drugs to treat COVID-19 is underway at Victoria's Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Patients at the Parkville hospital are the first to be screened for the trial, which uses an existing antimalarial drug and HIV treatment to fight the deadly virus.
There are plans to recruit patients in more than 70 hospitals across the country, as well as 11 hospitals in New Zealand for the trial, dubbed the AustralaSian COVID-19 Trial (ASCOT).
It is being led by Associate Professor Steven Tong from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Doherty Institute and partly funded by a $1 million donation from mining magnate Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation.
There are currently no treatments for COVID-19 but researchers say there are multiple treatment options that may be effective.
Laboratory tests have shown that lopinavir/ritonavir, which is currently used to treat HIV, and hydroxychloroquine, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and malaria, can stop SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in its tracks.
The World Health Organisation considers both these drugs to be promising treatments for coronavirus.
But more research is needed to be sure they are safe and effective.
"The aim of ASCOT is to test whether using these drugs will prevent patients deteriorating to the point of needing a ventilator in the intensive care unit," Associate Professor Tong said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We have designed the trial so that it's responsive and adaptive. This means that if one of the drugs is proving to be effective, we can adapt the trial to focus on that treatment.
"Conversely, if a drug isn't effective, or is causing severe side effects, we can stop it."
He said having a co-ordinated approach both nationally and across the ditch means many patients participate and evidence can be gathered "as quickly as possible".
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others and gatherings are limited to two people unless you are with your family or household.
If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor (don’t visit) or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080. If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
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