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Zydus hepatitis drug cleared for Covid care
As per phase 3 trials that spanned across 20-25 centres in India, 91.15% of the patients treated with the drug were RT-PCR negative by day 7.
Indian pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila on Friday announced that the company has received restricted emergency use approval from the drug regulator to the use of its hepatitis C drug, known as virafin, to treat cases with moderate infection of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The Ahmedabad-based company said in a statement on Friday that according to clinical trials, the antiviral drug -- Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b (PegIFN) -- reduces viral load if administered to Covid-19 patients early on in their course of treatment, thus lowering the chances of severe illness.
“The fact that we are able to offer a therapy which significantly reduces viral load when given early on can help in better disease management. It comes at a much-needed time for patients and we will continue to provide them access to critical therapies in this battle against COVID-19,” said Sharvil Patel, managing director, Cadila Healthcare Limited.
It added that the drug will be available on prescription for use in hospitals and medical facilities.
As per phase 3 trials that spanned across 20-25 centres in India, 91.15% of the patients treated with the drug were RT-PCR negative by day 7. The treatment significantly reduced the hours of supplemental oxygen required for treatment of the patients, the firm said.
More details about the study are yet to be released, and peer reviewed.
“Clinically the hours of supplemental oxygen required was significantly lesser in the PegIFN arm and as well as the time to resolution of signs and symptoms as compared to the Standard of care arm (5 days vs 6 days),” the data released by the company said.
“Their data is good,” an official of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) aware of the matter said requesting anonymity.
Type I interferons – essentially proteins -- are the body’s first line of defence against many viral infections.
