AIIMS Bhopal claims good results in drug trial for COVID-19 treatment

As the world awaits a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus, India is inching a step closer to finding a cure. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhopal has claimed that the research institute has been conducting drug trials for the coronavirus treatment, and the trials have shown good results, till now.

On Saturday, a senior official of the research institute announced that trials of the drug Mycobacterium W (Mw) were conducted on COVID-19 patients at AIIMS Bhopal for the last few days. 

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Three out of four patients have fully recovered with the help of the drug prescribed for the treatment. "So far, three COVID-19 patients have recovered after the clinical trial of Mycobacterium W (Mw) at AIIMS," Dr Sarman Singh, Director, AIIMS Bhopal, said.

The drug, Mycobacterium W, was earlier used in the treatment of leprosy. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) recently collaborated with Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd to evaluate the effect of the drug for coronavirus treatment.

The drug was allowed by the authorities to be tested on critically ill patients, and has shown good results in AIIMS Bhopal, till now.

Dr. Singh also informed media that soon India will be using Favipiravir, a drug used in Japan, to treat coronavirus patients.