India May Test Plasma Of Recovered Patients As Potential Treatment For Covid-19
NEW DELHI, 10 APRIL 2020:
After long deliberations, India could consider starting clinical trials to explore convalescent plasma therapy as a potential treatment for the Covid-19 patients.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Thursday that it is drafting the research protocols for the therapy.
“We have to seek approval from Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) before initiating the trials among patients," said Manoj Murhekar, Director of National Institute of Epidemiology, ICMR on Thursday.
The convalescent plasma therapy is an age-old technique being used for dealing with infections and was also used during the Ebola outbreak. When a person gets infected, it takes roughly 5-7 days for one 's immune system to start releasing antibodies which can help him/her fight the virus. However, by that time, the patient might get sicker.
In this therapy, the antibody-laden serum from previously recovered patients is passively infused in a patient to help him/her fight the disease. This is currently in the experimental stage for Covid-19.
“It has shown some positive results in other countries, but those trials are limited and for very severe patients," added Murhekar. Kerala may be the first state to start the clinical trials among its patients, following the DGCA nod.
A recent study published by Chinese researchers has found the therapy to be a “promising rescue option" for severe Covid-19 patients. According to researchers, the plasma infused in 10 severe adult patients in Wuhan in China was well-tolerated and could significantly increase or maintain the neutralizing antibodies at a high level and patients showed improvement in their symptoms. But the study also added, that patients were also receiving other antiviral treatment and the possibility that these antiviral agents could contribute to the recovery of the patients or add to the therapeutic effect of the plasma could not be ruled out and called for more investigation.
Previous research in the field shows the technique could be more effective when used for prophylaxis than for treatment of any disease. “When used for therapy, antibody is most effective when administered shortly after the onset of symptoms," says peer-reviewed study that was published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.
In the absence of any other potential drug/vaccine, several countries including China and US have already started testing the therapy for patients. While India had been keenly observing the developments, the trials could have been initiated only when there was significant number of recovered patients. As on Thursday, as many as 572 people who have already recovered from the disease. Livemint