Anti-leprosy drug trial shows promise Indore Covid-19 count nears 3K

■ 4 Covid patients under clinical trial recovered

Initial trend of clinical trial of anti-leprosy drug, Mycobacterium w (Mw), for Covid-19, currently being conducted in All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Bhopal, is “encouraging”, researchers indicated on Saturday.

Four critically ill Covid19 patients, covered under the clinical trial, have recovered and tested negative for coronavirus, AIIMS Bhopal authorities said.

“Four Covid-19 patients who were on oxygen are now off-oxygen and tested negative for coronavirus. Initial trend of clinical trial of Mw for Covid-19 is encouraging,” AIIMS Bhopal director Sarman Singh told this newspaper.

“However, it is premature to jump to any conclusion at this stage since the share of success of the drug on the recovery of the four Covid-19 patients needs to be studied further,” he added.

“As per protocol, I cannot disclose if the reason for the cure (of the four critically ill Covid-19 patients) was placebo, or was because of administration of Mw,” he elaborated.

The four patients were admitted in Intensive Care Unit of Covid-19 wing of AIIMS Bhopal earlier and they were on oxygen support. They have tested negative for coronavirus twice. More clinical trials of the drug are in pipeline

Indore: With 83 more people testing positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours in Indore, the overall Covid-19 case count in the worst-hit district in Madhya Pradesh has climbed to 2,933, an official said on Saturday. The death toll in the district rose to 111 after samples of a 40year-old deceased tested positive, said Indore’s chief medical and health officer Praveeen Jadia. to determine its efficacy for treating Covid-19, researchers said.

AIIMS Bhopal is going to conduct trial on clinically ill Covid-19 patients, health workers and mildly symptomatic people who come in close contact of Covid-19 patients, sources said.

Covid-19 patients and volunteers are being recruited for clinical trial of the drug, a senior doctor in AIIMS Bhopal, who is part of the project, revealed.

“The outcome of the clinical trial of the drug could be known by end of June this year,” the AIIMS director said.

Besides AIIMS Bhopal, PGI Chandigarh and AIIMS Delhi, are also currently conducting clinical trial of the drug under a project sponsored by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).