Covid-19: Maharashtra to soon start clinical trials for plasma therapy, pool testing

Plasma therapy trials to begin at Sassoon Hospital in 3-4 days; nod sought for 3 more hosps, including JJ

With a nod from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Maharashtra government is all set to start clinical trials of plasma therapy at Sassoon Hospital in Pune in the coming days. The state is yet to get permissions to try out the therapy at three hospitals in Mumbai, Nagpur and Solapur. The state has got permission for pool testing for Covid-19.

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Last week, the state had sought permission from the Centre to start clinical trials of plasma therapy and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine for treatment of Covid-19 patients. The process requires permissions from multiple central agencies such as ICMR, Central Drugs Safety Organisation (CDSO) and Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), among others. BCG is given to newborns and children to prevent childhood tuberculosis. It is said that mild and moderate cases of coronavirus got cured and severe cases got mild with BCG therapy.

“We have got permission from the Centre to conduct clinical trials of plasma therapy and pool testing as well. Union minister for health and family welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan gave the nod in an interaction with the health ministers and secretaries in a video conference meeting on Friday,” said state health minister Rajesh Tope.

The convalescent plasma therapy aims at using antibodies from the blood of a recovered Covid-19 patient to treat those infected. The therapy can also be used to immunise those at a high risk of contracting the virus such as health workers, families of patients and other high-risk contracts.

Pool testing involves checking up to five samples in a single test. So far, one sample is tested at a time. The pool testing algorithm involves the Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) screening of a specimen pool, comprising multiple samples. In case a pool test comes positive, each sample is tested individually. “Once cleared by the ethics committee of the state, it will start at Sassoon Hospital, Pune in the next three-four days. It will also start at JJ Hospital in Mumbai, Indira Gandhi Medical College in Nagpur and Solapur Medical College in Solapur once the permissions are in place,” said Dr Tatyarao Lahane, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).

“We have also sought permission for clinical trials of BCG vaccine, which will be carried out at JJ Hospital, Mumbai,” he said.

Once the clinical trials are successful, the state can start plasma therapy and BCG vaccine treatment. Kerala and Delhi have already got permission to conduct the trials. Maharashtra is the most affected state with the maximum cases of coronavirus in the country.

In his interaction with the Union health minister, Tope also suggested use of portable pulse oximeter and chest X-ray for early detection of coronavirus, which will ultimately help in reducing the mortality rate. Oximeters are crucial because Covid-19 patients can have pneumonia for days before they develop shortness of breath. Low oxygen levels are a way to detect such cases earlier without Covid-19 tests, the officials said.

To deal with the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, Tope also suggested their re-use after getting them disinfected.