India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a research body under the government of India, has given the green light to clinical trials for a gram sepsis drug to save lives and reduce mortality among the critically-ill COVID-19 patients.
The researchers claim that there are a few clinical similarities between patients suffering from gram-negative sepsis, a life-threatening disorder, and COVID-19.
“In gram-negative sepsis as well as in critically-ill COVID-19 patients, there is an altered immune response leading to a massive change in their cytokine profile. The drug modulates the immune system of the body and thereby inhibits the cytokine storm leading to reduced mortality and faster recovery", CSIR said.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given consent for the trial which will start soon at different hospitals. CSIR has started a random, blind, two-pronged, active comparator-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of the drug for reducing mortality (deaths) in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
The drug, jointly developed by Indian pharmaceutical company Cadila with support from CSIR laboratories, for the purpose of treating gram sepsis, has been given the go ahead for marketing in India and will be available as "sepsivac" from Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Meanwhile, India is in the process of cloning US-based biopharmaceutical firm Gilead’s Ebola drug remdesivir. In a multi-country trial, the drug has displayed effective results on critically-ill COVID-19 patients and also resulted in the improvement of their condition.
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases in India has jumped to 18,601, with the death toll reaching 590. Nearly 1,336 cases have been registered in the last 24 hours.
