TURA: A recently announced two-part clinical trial by French doctors on a drug combo to cure COVID-19 infection is boosting expectations all the way here in Meghalaya where the government has already stockpiled the very same medicines ahead of the pandemic declaration.
A team of doctors led by renowned French researcher Didier Raoult announced, this week, about their success study in a new clinical controlled test which showed that a combination of the twin drugs Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin were found to be promising in treating COVID-19 positive patients.
The French researchers had announced that their additional study using the very same combination of drugs on 80 patients observed an improvement in all cases, except one 86-year-old patient who arrived with advanced form and in whom the evolution was irreversible.
“This is excellent and promising news in the battle against the corona virus infection and if and when the need comes to use of these drugs for treatment Meghalaya will be in advance preparedness of the other states. We have already stockpiled 60,000 doses of Hydroxychloroquine medicine to face any eventuality,” revealed Health Commissioner and Secretary P Sampath Kumar while speaking to The Shillong Times on Thursday evening.
He said that the state moved quickly to prevent a shortage of the Hydroxychloroquine drug (tablet) which is an inexpensive, globally available medicine used since 1955 to treat malaria, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis diseases.
In the light of the coronavirus outbreak and a surge in demand for Hydroxychloroquine, the Indian government has now banned exports of the anti-malaria drug, for the time being.
Sampath Kumar narrated that the state government took pre-emptive measures as the demand for the medicines soared.
It was revealed that the government moved into stocking up on the medicine even before getting approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research as delays in getting the green light would have resulted in the state losing out from getting its hands on the drugs.
Last week, the World Health Organisation announced that it was launching a global ‘Solidarity trial’ of the four most promising drugs for effective treatments of coronavirus starting with eight countries.
The trial will test four different drugs or combinations — Remdesivir, a combination of two drugs, Lopinavir and Ritonavir, the two drugs plus interferon beta, and Chloroquine which happens to be the main component of Hydroxychloroquine, the same drug now in the possession of the state government.
