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Business News/ Science / Health/  India to participate in WHO's Solidarity Plus trial to test three new drugs
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India to participate in WHO's Solidarity Plus trial to test three new drugs

The drugs are already in use for other conditions. Artesunate is used for severe malaria, imatinib for certain cancers, and infliximab for diseases of the immune system such as Crohn’s Disease and rheumatoid arthritis

The Solidarity PLUS trial is a platform trial that represents the largest global collaboration among WHO Member States. It involves thousands of researchers in over 600 hospitals in 52 countries, 16 more countries than the first phase of trials. (PTI)Premium
The Solidarity PLUS trial is a platform trial that represents the largest global collaboration among WHO Member States. It involves thousands of researchers in over 600 hospitals in 52 countries, 16 more countries than the first phase of trials. (PTI)

New Delhi: India will take part in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Solidarity PLUS trial that will enrol hospitalized covid-19 patients to test three new drugs-- artesunate, imatinib and infliximab.

The drugs are already in use for other conditions. Artesunate is used for severe malaria, imatinib for certain cancers, and infliximab for diseases of the immune system such as Crohn’s Disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Selected by an independent expert panel for their potential in reducing the risk of death in hospitalized covid-19 patients, the drugs were donated for the trial by their manufacturers. The trial will be conducted across multiple hospital sites in several cities, which are yet to be confirmed.

Artesunate, produced by Ipca, will be administered intravenously for 7 days, following the standard dose recommended for the treatment of severe malaria. Artesunate is a derivative of artemisinin, an antimalarial drug extracted from the herb Artemisia annua.

Artemisinin and its derivatives have been extensively used in the treatment of malaria and other parasitic diseases for over 30 years, and are regarded as being very safe. The WHO covid-19 Therapeutics Advisory Group recommended evaluating the anti-inflammatory properties of artesunate.

Imatinib, produced by Novartis, will be administered orally, once daily, for 14 days. A randomized clinical trial performed in the Netherlands reported that imatinib might confer clinical benefit in hospitalized covid-19 patients, in the absence of safety issues.

Infliximab, produced by Johnson and Johnson, will be administered intravenously as a single dose. Infliximab is a TNF alpha inhibitor, a chimeric monoclonal antibody that recognizes human TNF alpha. Anti-TNF biologics have been approved for the treatment of certain autoimmune inflammatory conditions for more than 20 years, demonstrating favourable efficacy and safety in restricting broad spectrum inflammation, including in elderly populations who are most clinically vulnerable to covid-19.

“Finding more effective and accessible therapeutics for covid-19 patients remains a critical need. I would like to thank the participating governments, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, clinicians and patients, who have come together to do this in true global solidarity," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general, WHO.

The Solidarity PLUS trial is a platform trial that represents the largest global collaboration among WHO Member States. It involves thousands of researchers in over 600 hospitals in 52 countries, 16 more countries than the first phase of trials. This allows the trial to assess multiple treatments at the same time using a single protocol, recruiting thousands of patients to generate robust estimates on the effect a drug may have on mortality--even moderate effects.

It also allows new treatments to be added and ineffective treatments to be dropped throughout the course of the trial. Previously, four drugs were evaluated by the trial. The results showed that Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir and Interferon had little or no effect on hospitalized patients with covid-19.

Through the Solidarity PLUS trial, researchers across the world have an opportunity to use their expertise and resources to contribute to global covid-19 research, the WHO said.

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Published: 12 Aug 2021, 02:44 PM IST
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