A big dampener
With repurposed drugs showing disappointing results, it will be dangerous to drop guard at this stage
The results of the world’s largest Solidarity Therapeutic Trials, coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to determine the efficacy of the repurposed drugs, have come as a dampener at a time when several countries are witnessing a surge in the Covid-19 infections. After six months of research and largest randomised control trial on Covid-19 therapeutics, involving 11,300 patients in 405 hospitals across 30 countries, it has been found that none of the four popular repurposed drug regimens, including Remdesivir, is effective in the treatment of the disease. This is a grim reminder of the scale and complexity of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier, these therapies—a combination of repurposed drugs like Remdesivir, Hydroxyxhloroquine, Lopinavir/Ritonavir and Interferon — was seen as promising in the treatment of Covid-19. The main aim of the trials was to help determine whether any of these repurposed therapies could at least moderately affect in-hospital mortality. The disappointing results come at a time when the United States, the worst affected country, is going through a third wave of infections while Europe has been hit by a second wave. The ongoing festive season in India is likely to result in a surge in the number of cases. It is widely feared that the onset of winter could worsen the situation. The solidarity trials proved that antiviral Remdesivir did not reduce mortality or benefit those with severe conditions; nor did Interferon-beta, widely used to treat autoimmune disorders. However, it is still not clear whether these repurposed drugs could help those with mild infections if given early.
India too participated in the therapeutic trials, covering 937 patients, to assess the efficacy of treatments on three parameters—mortality, need for assisted ventilation and duration of hospital stay. None of the drugs was able to show benefits across the parameters studied, especially in reducing mortality among hospitalised patients. However, the findings will not have any major impact on the use of other drugs and assisted therapies that have been proven to help reduce mortalities and improve clinical outcomes, including oxygen and steroids like dexamethasone. And, newer therapies like antibody cocktails may receive greater and immediate attention now. While India stopped use of combinations like Lopinavir/Ritonavir early into the pandemic, the combinations of Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine and Interferon are still used as part of the Covid-19 treatment regimen based on the severity of illness. The size of Remdesivir market in India was pegged at Rs 121.29 crore in the last one year. In view of the extremely limited treatment options available and the continued surge in the number of cases, it would be dangerous to drop one’s guard at this stage. Masks, sanitisers and social distancing must continue to be the mantra in the fight against the pandemic.
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .
