BMC to start clinical trials for Remdesivir at Nair Hospital
EBOLA DRUG With success in other countries, civic body looks to use drug to improve recovery rate
After testing a drug used for psoriasis, Itolizumab, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to start clinical trials for Remdesivir, an antiviral drug used for treatment of Ebola, on Covid-19 at BYL Nair Hospital.
Remdesivir is an experimental antiviral drug developed by the Us-based pharma major Gilead Sciences in 2014 as a cure for Ebola. Since then, it has been used to treat Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, both of which are caused by other strains of the coronavirus. It has been found to effectively block Sarscov-2 virus and boost recovery among coronavirus patients. With the cases set to surpass the 18,000 mark, the BMC is keen on improving the recovery rate.
“Clinical trials of Remdesivir in other countries have shown success in treating coronavirus patients. It doesn’t cure patients like Tamiflu, but helps reduce the recovery time from 11-15 days, resulting in faster discharge,” said Suresh Kakani, assistant commissioner (health), BMC.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in a statement said, “It works by shutting down viral replication.”
Explaining how the drug works, Dr Om Srivastava, a citybased epidemiologist, said, “Sarscov-2, which causes Covid-19, has a single Ribonucleic acid (RNA) segment which duplicates as it infects cells using an enzyme— polymerase. This enzyme strings together with new strands of RNA. The RNA is composed of four bases. Remdesivir is an analog that closely resembles one of those bases— Adenine. So, when the drug is injected into the body, the virus grabs the Remdesivir and inserts it into the RNA. Thus, it corrupts the RNA and stops it from producing more virus.”
To obtain the quickest scientific data to treat patients with Covid-19, WHO has announced a ‘solidarity trial’ where thousands of patients all across the world are encouraged to try the promising drug and disclose the findings.
The international health community has maintained that of the drugs in the WHO solidarity trial, Remdesivir has the best potential — the drug shows that it can be used in high doses without causing toxicities.
The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) conducted a study of Remdesivir on 1,063 patients and found success. Again, in a study conducted by Dr Aruna Subramanian, a clinical professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, 50% of patients who were given 5mg of the drug improved in 10 days. However, a study published in international science journal Lancet under ‘Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial’ state that “Remdesivir did not provide significant clinical or antiviral effects in seriously ill patients with Covid-19.”