Apart from targeted treatment, rate of recovery is also a factor that needs attention to tawww.indiatvnews.com/news/ckle the rising cases in the country. Considering that most of the companies are working hard to provide and find prevention and provide targeted treatment, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), has developed a drug that can be a game changer in the fight against COVID-19 as it claims to help in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces oxygen dependence. This could be a life saver for both the patient as well as the industry dealing with the scarcity of the resources like oxygen supplies. What we really look forward to is, how fast the drug can be mass produced and distributed to the hospitals fighting against the rising cases on a daily basis.

The 2-DG drug developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) could be a game-changer in the fight against COVID, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Friday. “The 2-DG drug developed by DRDO is a big breakthrough and could be a game-changer in the battle against pandemic as it helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces oxygen dependence,” Sudhakar was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office. The Minister had visited the DRDO campus in the city where scientists briefed him about the ongoing efforts at the premier research organisation to find solutions to tackle the pandemic.

About the 2-DG (2-deoxy-D-glucose), an anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of the drug, the statement read that it has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad. Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence. Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in COVID patients. The drug would be of benefit to the people suffering from COVID-19, the statement read.

In April 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, INMAS-DRDO scientists conducted laboratory experiments with the help of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, and found that this molecule works effectively against SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits the viral growth, according to the statement. It said based on these results, the Drugs Controller General of Indias (DCGI) Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) permitted Phase-II clinical trial of 2-DG in COVID-19 patients in May 2020.

The DRDO, along with its industry partner DRL, Hyderabad, started the clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of the drug in COVID-19 patients.

In Phase-II trials (including dose ranging) conducted during May-October 2020, the drug was found to be safe in COVID-19 patients and showed significant improvement in their recovery, the statement said adding, Phase-II was conducted in six hospitals and Phase IIb (dose ranging) clinical trial was conducted at 11 hospitals all over the country. Phase-II trial was conducted on 110 patients.

Another innovative solution of DRDO – the Oxycare System-optimises the consumption of oxygen and reduces the workload and exposure of healthcare providers by eliminating the need of routine measurement and manual adjustments of oxygen flow, he added. According to the Minister, the PM-CARES Fund would procure 1.5 lakh units of Oxycare System at a cost of Rs 322.5 crore.

SOURCE: www.indiatvnews.com/news

As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hits the country once again, with cases peaking at over 3.5 lakh per day, hospitals are now functioning at their maximum capacity. With lack of proper medication and oxygen supplies, empty beds are a scarce resource in hospitals; citizens are scurrying to look for one at other COVID-19 facilities in their city. Under such a scenario, a Swedish company, Trucaller, has launched a COVID Hospital Directory found inside the app or the dialler. Though there’s no word on its iOS availability yet, the company says this feature is available for Android beta users currently and should be available for all Android users soon; which could prove an aid to the patients and their peers in need.

Telephone search engine and caller ID service provider, Truecaller, has launched a COVID-19 Healthcare Directory allowing users in India to find hospitals and care facilities in their area. The directory is built right into the app and can be accessed from either the menu or the dialer, the company said in a statement.

The feature provides contact numbers and addresses of COVID-19 hospitals in multiple states, which have been sourced from official government databases. A search button in the app can help the user quickly find all information needed in case of an emergency. Users can contact the numbers to check for availability of ventilator beds and other details.

Truecaller said that the company decided to launch the Healthcare Directory to make it easier for everyone in India to find medical care near them. The COVID health directory appears on the top left corner of the dialer. The contact details will be updated on a daily basis to ensure more and more hospital phone numbers from across India are made available for users. “The directory includes telephone numbers and addresses of COVID designated hospitals from multiple states across the country, sourced from official government databases”, it said.

“This is part of our mission to make your communication safer and more efficient. Follow us on our social channels for more updates, including Truecaller’s YouTube Channel, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter,” the statement added.

SOURCE: www.cnbctv18.com/business

In today’s advancing medical and scientific (knowledge) industry, there has always been a debate on the efficiency and extent of the long rooted Ayurvedic treatments, which has been an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. And hence they will always have a for and against side to it. With this fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Megalab is developing a two-dose Ayurveda-based coronavirus vaccine that claims to stop the spread of this deadly virus and would prevent the infection within few days of the first dose. It could soon become a reality that once again Ayurveda would be at rescue in a more efficient manner as in the old days.

The IIT Alumni Council-funded Megalab has secured a Rs 300-crore seed funding and is developing a two-dose Ayurveda-based coronavirus vaccine that can stop the spread of the deadly virus and prevent infection within a few days of the first dose. The city-based Megalab, set up last April by the council to drive the fight against the pandemic with ideas and money, will also be importing available vaccines from the West to be distributed first in Mumbai and then elsewhere, the alumni council president Ravi Sharma told PTI on Thursday.

Sharma said the seed funding is part of the emergency funds lying with Social Fund, the financing arm of the council and forms part of the Rs 21,000 crore fund raising announced last April in the peak of the first wave of the pandemic.

He said the proposed vaccine, which will be available for sale over the next six months, is an Ayurveda-based adjuvant vaccine that will have both injectable and nasal drops variants, and is expected to improve efficacy, reduce side effects, and work across all variants of the virus that has killed more than 2.6 lakh people in the country already. On the plan to import vaccines, he said the move follows the US supporting patent waiver on Covid vaccines and should begin within a fortnight for distribution in Mumbai.  

He further said the proposed vaccine is the first antigen-free, novel vaccine that is self-limiting and will be locally manufactured, the discussion for which are already on with drug companies and is based on indigenous technology. The end objective is to deliver a continuously upgradable vaccine that can outpace the virus thus helping to end the pandemic, Sharma said, adding the vaccine will initially be available to alumni community only. The imported vaccines will be priced at a US equivalent price point initially and will be delivered via specially retrofitted buses to office or home locations.

Sharma said the new vaccine initiative is being led by Dr Arindam Bose, a Connecticut- based thought leader of the biotechnology industry, chairperson of the therapeutic group in the Covid-19 task force, and a senior advisor to the India Vaccine Stack of the Megalab. Bose previously headed the vaccine development division at the global drug giant Pfizer, while Dr Shantaram Kane, an IIT Bombay alumni and a PhD from MIT, is heading the injectable adjuvant and oral/nasal drops components of the India Vaccine Stack.

The Megalab is in discussions with partners including Krsnaa Diagnostics, Kodoy, Koteleo, Platinae and Brew to divert available technology, laboratory and manpower resources to accelerate vaccine development and delivery, Sharma said.

SOURCE: www.indiatvnews.com/news

Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic requires both prevention via vaccine and targeted treatment for those who have contracted the virus. Given the way that the virus is mutating and with its impact globally, it looks like that it will be critical to have access to the therapeutic options both now and beyond the pandemic. Hence, Pfizer has initiated phase 1 study of its novel oral antiviral therapeutic agent against Sars-cov-2. On the brighter side, if this proves to be as effective as it claims, it would be a boon to the healthcare system as it would curtail the shortage of the only existing oral drug (Remdesivir) in the market and will act as a potential oral therapy that could be prescribed at the first sign of infection, without requiring the patients to be hospitalized.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has said that an oral drug for treating coronavirus could be ready next year adding the company is working on two antivirals, an oral and an injectable. “We are actually on two, one is injectable and the other one an oral (antiviral). Particularly the attention is on the oral for the world and of us because provides several advantages and one of them is that you don’t need to go to the hospital to get the treatment of which is the case with all the injectables so far but you can get it home,” Bourla told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday, as cited by The Hill.

“If all goes well, and we implement the same speed that we are, and if regulators do the same, and they are, I hope that by the end of the year,” Bourla added.

The only antiviral currently approved for use against the coronavirus is Remdesivir, which is manufactured by Gilead Sciences. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the drug full approval in October after it was granted emergency use authorization in May last year. He also said the medication could be “way more effective against the multiple variants” of the virus than current options adding that the mechanism of action, of the antiviral, is not expected to be subject to mutations, “particularly because it’s not acting on the spike, as we all know, all the mutations that we are hearing right now are seeing this in the proteins of the spike.”

“This one doesn’t work there so that allows us to believe that will be way more effective against the multiple variants. So, all good news. We are now progressing the studies and we will have more news around summer,” the CEO added. The Hill further reported that thus far, more than 121 million doses of the vaccine have been administered across the United States. 

SOURCE: www.hindustantimes.com

The most talked about Sputnik vaccine is the first of its kind single-dose vaccine as compared to other vaccines like Covisheild and Covaxin which follow two dose regimens. Some say that Sputnik will be able to treat the mutated virus unlike other vaccines. But are these all mere speculations or will it really be able to tackle all the existing and upcoming variants, this is something only time will tell.

Sputnik V Light, Russia’s single-dose vaccine for Covid19 is expected to be launched in India soon, informed Russia Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev on Friday. Earlier in the day, the first dose of Sputnik V Covid vaccine was also administered in India, becoming the third vaccine in the country which will now be used for inoculation drive.

“Sputnik V is a Russian-Indian vaccine. A big part of its production will be in India. We expect to produce more than 850 million doses of Sputnik V in India this year. We hope for the introduction of Sputnik V Lite in India soon,” Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev said. Sputnik Light is the first component (recombinant human adenovirus serotype number 26 (rAd26)) of Sputnik V – the world’s first registered vaccine against coronavirus.

The single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine demonstrated 79.4% efficacy according to analyzed data taken from 28 days after the injection was administered as part of Russia’s mass vaccination program between 5 December 2020 and 15 April 2021. An efficacy level of almost 80% is higher than that of many two-dose vaccines. Sputnik Light has proven effective against all new strains of coronavirus, as demonstrated by the Gamaleya Center during laboratory tests.

SOURCE:www.indiatvnews.com/news