In 2017, we took this hypothesis ‘from bench to bedside’, setting up ProgrAm – a drug tolerance trial to assess whether women are able to tolerate the combination of progesterone with aminophylline.
The trial involves recruiting 70 pregnant women who are considered ‘high risk’ for preterm labour – women who have previously lost or had a premature baby. 35 of the women receive the new combination treatment of progesterone with aminophylline, while the control group receives progesterone only. The study is well underway, with 54 of the 70 women recruited.
The results of the study are very promising, which means we can proceed to the next stage: a multicentre random controlled trial.
This takes us one step closer to transforming clinical protocol with a new application for a readily available drug and one step closer to finding the first new treatment to prevent premature birth in over 50 years.