In India, Drugs for COVID Are Being Tested, Approved in Ways That Should Worry Us 25/05/2021
Representative photo: analuisa gamboa/Unsplash
Mumbai: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, researchers around the world have evaluated scores of drugs and therapeutic techniques for the disease. Even according to the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI), researchers in the country are testing everything from inhaled camphor and ajwain to Viagra.
This may be desperation, given the brutality of India’s second COVID-19 outbreak. It is also worthwhile in more ways than one to repurpose existing drugs to treat COVID-19.
However, in most cases, a substantial profit motive isn’t too far away. Together with India’s opaque drug regulation apparatus and its propensity to approve substances on little to no evidence – especially during the pandemic itself – these clinical trials warrant a closer look.
Neem formulation 55% effective in preventing Covid, says Nisarga Biotech
May 20, 2021
Nisarga Biotech Pvt Ltd, which offers 40 natural therapeutic products for chronic diseases, recently launched Nisarga Neem Capsules that has proven to be an effective preventive remedy for Covid-19 after its recently concluded clinical trials in April 2021.
BusinessLine caught up with the Satara, Maharashtra headquartered company’s founder and CEO Girish Soman, to find out more. Excerpts:
What led to the creation of Nisarga’s neem capsules as a prophylactic for Covid-19?
Nisarga’s clinical trial was based on its patent-pending neem leaf extract, well researched for six years in pre-clinical studies with a reputed research institute in the US and toxicity studies completed as per the USFDA norms. Neem has been reported to exert anti-inflammatory, antibacterial/antiviral and antioxidant effects in our research as well as previously conducted anti-docking studies making it a potential p
2-DG s therapeutic use for COVID-19 is set to begin in the coming week. However, there are several gaps in the information surrounding the drug trials and a lack of available data.
Healthcare workers transfer the body of a person who died from COVID-19, at a hospital in Kolkata, May 12, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri
Mumbai: On May 1, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved a drug called 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) for emergency use among people with moderate and severe COVID-19, to help manage the disease.
This drug was jointly developed by researchers at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, which falls under the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), and the pharmaceutical giant Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
In line with the DCGI’s approval for favipiravir, itolizumab and Verafin, the approval for 2-DG is based on poor evidence.