Coronavirus | Two hospitals from city to be part of WHO trial

Global solidarity trial aimed at evaluating four antiviral agents

Two hospitals in the city — BYL Nair in Mumbai Central and Hinduja in Mahim — have become a part of a global solidarity trial of the World Health Organization (WHO) to find an effective treatment for COVID-19.

Two other hospitals in the city are in the process of getting approval.

The trial, being conducted in many countries simultaneously, is aimed at evaluating four antiviral agents: remdesivir, chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir-ritonavir and lopinavir-ritonavir with interferon beta-1a.

While remdesivir has been tried for Ebola earlier, chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine are anti-malarial drugs. Lopinavir-ritonavir are anti-HIV drugs, and interferon beta-1a-based therapies are prescribed for patients with multiple sclerosis.

In India, the trial is being coordinated by the National AIDS Research Institute of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Senior scientist Dr. Sheela Godbole, who is the national coordinator for the solidarity trial, told The Hindu that nearly 25 sites will be approved for the trial across India. “In Mumbai, we are recruiting four sites,” said Dr. Godbole, adding that 15 sites have already been registered.

The civic-run BYL Nair Hospital, which was converted into a dedicated COVID-19 facility, has already recruited eight patients on the trial. Each hospital is likely to have a sample size of 50 patients. Parel’s KEM Hospital may be another civic facility to be approved as a site for the trial.

On May 13, the ICMR announced its partnership with the WHO solidarity trial and said it will fast-track the rollout in India in order to find an effective treatment for COVID-19.

ICMR’s media release said the trial will compare four treatment options against standard of care to assess their relative effectiveness against COVID-19.

“By enrolling patients in multiple countries, the solidarity trial aims to rapidly discover whether any of the drugs slow disease progression or improve survival,” said the statement.