WHO trial looks at 4 most promising drugs

New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research has recommended the use of anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine "under exceptional circumstances" as a line of treatment against high-risk Covid-19 patients.

The recommendation comes amid a global debate on whether the anti-malarial drug will prove effective in treating Covid-19 and also after anti-HIV drugs were used as treatment on patients admitted for Covid-19 in Jaipur, as well as in a few cases abroad.

A recent French study had shown hydroxychloroquine may be beneficial if taken with an antibiotic mechanism for fighting a coronavirus infection.

However, the scientific community has urged caution as research is currently limited as clinical trials of much larger scales need to be conducted to conclusively determine the effectiveness of a drug.

The use of the drug in India, apart from high-risk patients, has largely been recommended for asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 and asymptomatic household contacts of laboratory confirmed cases, an advisory said.

More importantly, it said that this line of treatment should not lead to a false sense of security and all other precautions such as washing of hands, use of protective gear and maintaining 1m distance should be followed as usual.

ICMR's Director-General Dr.Balram Bhargava issued a note on the recommendation on Sunday. The note is attached with an advisory on how and when the drug is to be used and on which category of patients. It also provides for a brief explanation on why this drug is being recommended.

At a time when nearly 70 drugs and experimental cocktails are being examined to treat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a global trial called ''SOLIDARITY to find out if any drug can actually treat infections with the new coronavirus.

The trial, which could include many thousands of patients in dozens of countries, has been designed to be as simple as possible so that even hospitals overwhelmed by an onslaught of COVID-19 patients can participate, according to the prestigious journal Science.

Scientists have suggested dozens of existing compounds for testing but WHO is focusing on what it says are the four most promising therapies.

These are "an experimental antiviral compound called remdesivir; the malaria medications chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine; a combination of two HIV drugs, lopinavir and ritonavir; and that same combination plus interferon-beta, an immune system messenger that can help cripple viruses," said the article in the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).