Covid-19: Trials Of Anti-Leprosy Mw Vaccine To Be Conducted On 40 Patients In Three Hospitals, Says PGIMER Director

The Director of PGIMER, Chandigarh has informed on Sunday (3 May) that the safety trial of anti-leprosy drug Mycobacterial w (Mw) drug has been completed and its actual trials would be held at PGI-Chandigarh, AIIMS-Delhi and AIIMS-Bhopal, reports ANI.

Mycobacterium indicus pranni, which was earlier known as Mw is a non-pathogenic mycobacterial species. Based on its metabolic properties and growth characteristics, it is classified as a member of the Mycobacterium avium complex.

In India, the immune-boosting drug was developed in 1966 as an anti-leprosy drug which resulted in a successful treatment to cure leprosy. It acts through the toll-like receptor pathway and enhances host-T cell responses.

Earlier, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had started the clinical trial on an anti-leprosy vaccine to identify if it can be used as a COVID-19 vaccine.

In a recently concluded multi-center trial of the drug, it had been found that Mw reduces mortality in ICU patients with severe sepsis. A PGI spokesperson reportedly said, "Mw can potentially decrease the cytokine storm seen in patients with Covid-19 and may thus be of potential benefit in managing these patients and decreasing mortality."