Coronavirus pandemic | Under WHO solidarity trial, India begins testing 4 drugs that may cure COVID-19

Researchers will be evaluating four potential anti-viral agents, namely, Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir-Ritonavir, and a combination of Lopinavir-Ritonavir with Interferon (ß1a).

Moneycontrol News

May 14, 2020 / 12:46 IST

To find a cure for the deadly novel coronavirus, India will begin the clinical trials to test the effectiveness of four anti-viral drugs. The fast-tracked study will be undertaken as a part of the World Health Organization’s “solidarity trial”.

WHO launched the solidarity trial with the aim of bringing the world together in the efforts to find a cure for the deadly virus that has killed nearly 3,00,000 people across the world in the past few months. Even if these drugs do not provide a complete cure, they could at least slow the progression of the disease and improve the chances of survival among COVID-19 patients.

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The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) announced on May 13 that the trials have begun on COVID-19 patients across nine sites in the country, reported the Economic Times. Commenting on this, Sheela Godbole, a senior scientist who is the national coordinator for the solidarity trial in India, said: “The required regulatory and ethical approvals have already been obtained and clinical trial sites have started to recruit patients in the trial.”

ICMR has informed that researchers will be evaluating four potential anti-viral agents — Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir-Ritonavir and a combination of Lopinavir-Ritonavir with Interferon (ß1a).

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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Coronavirus pandemic | Under WHO solidarity trial, India begins testing 4 drugs that may cure COVID-19

Researchers will be evaluating four potential anti-viral agents, namely, Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir-Ritonavir, and a combination of Lopinavir-Ritonavir with Interferon (ß1a).

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Coronavirus pandemic | Under WHO solidarity trial, India begins testing 4 drugs that may cure COVID-19

Researchers will be evaluating four potential anti-viral agents, namely, Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir-Ritonavir, and a combination of Lopinavir-Ritonavir with Interferon (ß1a).

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