The clinical trial will test 210 patients from more than 10 centers over the course of ten days
Results of the drugs are expected by October 2020 / photo credit:
Adobe
Sun Pharmaceutical has been granted permission to trial a plant-based drug to test whether it can treat patients with coronavirus (Covid-19.)
The drug, named AQCH, has shown ‘broad antiviral effect’ in several in vitro studies and has already completed its human safety study.
The clinical trial will test 210 patients from more than 10 centers over the course of ten days. Results are expected by October this year.
‘Potential treatment’
According to Times of India, Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director at Sun Pharma said: “AQCH has shown anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects in in-vitro studies conducted in collaboration with ICGEB, Italy.
“These results combined with information on mechanism of action through in-vitro and small animal studies give us the confidence to evaluate this potential treatment option for Covid-19 patients.”
‘The magic bullet’
Although many news outlets have turned their attention to the race for a vaccine with some describing it as a ‘holy grail’.
But as Plant Based News‘ Klaus Mitchell points out in an exclusive video, some experts have recently adopted a more cautious tone, with the World Health Organization’s Health Emergency Program’s executive director saying the virus may ‘never go away’.
“And they are right to be cautious,” says Mitchell in the video. “Because the chances of a COVID-19 vaccine being the magic bullet out of this situation are very slim.
“Here’s why: looking back at history there are plenty of diseases that never had a vaccine. Takes SARS, HIV, dengue fever, and malaria, just to name a few examples. And that’s because creating an effective vaccine is really hard.
“Using traditional methods, the purified components of the virus would be injected into humans in low doses to trigger an immune response, the idea being that when the virus strikes, our body is ready to fight it off.”
Article Credit: plantbasednews