Clinical Trial Of Anti-Leprosy Drug On Covid-19 Patients Yielding Good Results, Claims AIIMS Bhopal

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhopal, which was allowed by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct clinical trials of an anti-leprosy drug on Covid-19 patients, has claimed that the treatment with the drug has yielded some good results, reports Economic Times.

According to the report, the institute has conducted trials of the drug Mycobacterium W (Mw) on Covid-19 patients at AIIMS Bhopal for the last few days.

"So far, three COVID-19 patients have recovered after the clinical trial of Mycobacterium W (Mw) at AIIMS," director of the institute Dr Sarman Singh was quoted in the report as saying.

He said that that the trials were being run for the last few days and the results were good as three out of the four patients enrolled for the trial had fully recovered and were discharged.

Dr Singh added that if the Mycobacterium W proves effective during the clinical trial, it will be used in the treatment of Covid-19.

The Mycobacterium W is used in the treatment of leprosy. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has recently tied up with Cadila pharmaceuticals to evaluate the effect of this drug for faster recovery of hospitalised Covid-19 patients, Singh said.

Earlier in April, the DCGI had granted permission to the CSIR to conduct tests of the Mw on critically ill Covid-19 patients at three hospitals in the country - AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Bhopal and PGI Chandigarh.