Immunomodulator To Treat Covid-19 To Be Available In Two Months In India
Ahmedabad based Cadila Pharmaceuticals seems to be on the path of a significant breakthrough when research organizations and companies across the world are racing to find a cure for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cadila, in partnership with India’s premier research organization Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), tested an immunomodulator, Sepsivac successfully in four Covid-19 patients, including one critically ill. According to two officials close to the department, the Phase III trials of the immunomodulator is set to begin this week.
The immunomodulator will be available in the market in two months if everything goes as planned. Cadila Pharmaceuticals is manufacturing the drug at the facility in Dholka, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
Sepsivac will be repurposed under the partnership of CSIR and Cadila Pharma. The drug was being used for the treatment of leprosy and was a game-changer for gram-negative sepsis patients.
Four patients admitted at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, recovered from Covid-19 after treating them with Sepsivac.
The green light for conducting human trials had been shown by the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI). The company officials updated about
the success of the immunomodulator to treat Covid-19 patients during a video conference with 70 leading pharma stockists from across the country.An industry official said the trials would be simultaneously held on 4,000 persons who have a high chance of being infected, including safai kamdaars, healthcare workers, etc., on 480 non-critical patients and 50 critical patients.
He added that soon the recruitment process for conducting trials would begin. Multiple hospitals, including the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, have been roped for conducting clinical trials.
Sepsivac reduces the chances of mortality and improves the healing process by modulating the immune system by lessening the probability of the cytokine storm.
There are some similarities between the clinical characteristics of Covid-19 symptoms and those of gram-negative sepsis, according to CSIR researchers.
Mycobacterium indicus pranii is used in the immunomodulator to treat Covid-19 as it produces a different immune-system response. The first company to start clinical trials on larger groups in India is Cadila Pharmaceuticals.
