COVID-19: India takes part in WHO’s solidarity drug trial of Remdesivir

Indiais taking part in the solidarity trial of drug Remdesivir as claims of encouraging results are observed by testing the drug Remdesivir on critical coronavirus patients.

Drug Remdesivir was developed to treat the Ebola virus and has been granted permission by the WHO to conduct solidarity trials by different countries on COVID-19 patients.

Dr.Raman Gangakhedar at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) stated that India was part of the solidarity trial,which was led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), to analyse the efficiency of Remdesivir and other drugs on COVID-19 positive patients. Dr.Gangakhedar heads the epidemiology and communicable diseases division at the ICMR.

Dr.Raman Gangakhedar stated that drug Remdesivir showed massive improvement in two-thirds of positive coronavirus patients in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe. Drug Remdesivir helped two-thirds of the patients to recover to an extent where they did not need the support of oxygen supply and ventilators. However, the tests were not part of clinical trials in these cases.

Talking about the solidarity trial, Dr.Raman Gangakhedar said: “Drug Remdesivir was being used in the Ebola outbreak. The drug acts on the mutation of the COVID-19 virus, which is why researchers believe that it could work”, he stated.

The WHO released a draft report of its Research & Development Blueprint last month. The report claimed drug Remdesivirto be the ‘most promising candidate’ among the therapeutic options currently available to treat the patients tested positive to the COVID-19 virus. Drug Remdesivir’s effectiveness was announced from the data collected from in-vitro and in-vivo tests conducted.

Researchers state that drug Remdesivir slows the infection rate of healthy cells by blocking the replication of the virus in the body. “Further, studies in mice using Remdesivir showed superior efficacy over the drugs Kaletra+IFNbeta,” the R&D Blueprint report of WHO stated.

On the trials with drug Remdisivir, Dr. Raman Gangakhedar said: “It is a product made by Gilead company. ICMR is participating in a solidarity trial with WHO, an arm of that solidarity trial is also working on the efficaciousness of Remdesivir. Can pharmaceutical companies make it, once we know that then we shall move forward from there.”

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