(Image source from: timesnownews.com)

With no possible vaccine in the hindsight at the moment for Covid-19, researchers and laboratories are gearing up to find a possible treatment option to lower the intensity and impacts of the virus.

In such recent events, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has received an application from the biggest pharmaceutical company in the country, Zydus Cadila, seeking permission to use hepatitis drug for Covid-19 clinical trials.

The antiviral drug ‘Pegylated Interferon Alpha-2b’, is what the company has been seeking permission for. The drug has been used for Hepatitis B and C treatment in India till now.

The reason why the permission application came forth is because the Pegylated Interferon Alpha-2b has already been used as a treatment option for Covid-19 in China and Cuba. The drug is even part of the treatment guidelines mentioned by the Chinese government.

Cadila has also reached out to the Department of Biotechnology under the Central Government to further test the efficacy and role of the drug for the treatment of Covid-19.

“Talks are on. Our experts’ committee is examining it. Further decisions are awaited,’ a senior government official reported to ANI.

The government official further added that there have been reports suggesting that the clinical studies that have been conducted in US and China have reported faster recovery of the patients involved.

Even a conducted study by a group of researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston reported the impacts of the Interferon Alpha against the novel coronavirus in an in-vitro setting.

The study showcased over 10,000 fold reduction in the virus titre in the cells following the injection of the drug that were pre-treated around 48 hours earlier.

The second was conducted by a group of universities from China, Australia and Canada on 77 moderately infected Covid-19 patients and found that the patients injected with the Interferon Alpha-2b showed reduced impacts in the duration of the virus shedding period along with the reduction in the levels of the inflammatory cytokine.

The results from these tests suggest that if a long-acting molecule of this drug is administered on the patient early on in the infection, it will effectively help reduce the viral load and improve the overall immune response of the body.

Zydus Cadila has been manufacturing Pegylated Interferon Alpha-2b under the brand name, PegiHep for the last 9 years. The drug has not yet been licensed as an effective treatment drug for Covid-19.

The pharmaceutical company has already been ramping up the production of Hydroxychloroquine that are being administered on the asymptomatic healthcare workers.

India currently has over 46,000 confirmed cases with over 1500 reported deaths due to Covid-19.

By Somapika Dutta