LOGIN DASHBOARD

    COVID19

    4 MIN READ

    Scientists worldwide in desperate search for COVID-19 drug

    Deepak Adhikari, April 10, 2020, Kathmandu

    Scientists worldwide in desperate search for COVID-19 drug

      Share this article

    Insights on the trials and investigations for vaccines and drugs to treat COVID-19 patients.

    (The Record)

    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have gone into complete lockdowns over the last few weeks. The things we took for granted in normal times such as daily commute and meetings are restricted. The number of cases and death toll from COVID-19 have seen a dramatic rise over the period. People want to know about the possible cure of the disease caused by novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

    Social media platforms are rife with false information on vaccine and medicine for COVID-19. There are still no vaccines or drugs for the disease, although progresses have been made in the area. South Asia Check has gathered insights on the trials and investigations for vaccines and drugs to treat COVID-19 patients.

    What vaccines are being developed to prevent the disease?

    Two types of treatments are currently developed across the world. First is to develop a new set of treatment such as vaccines and drugs and second to test the efficacy of existing drugs for the disease. Clinical trials for vaccine are underway in breakneck speed because early on China provided the genetic sequencing of the coronavirus. But experts say it will take at least one year to 18 months for a vaccine to be available. At least 35 companies and academic institutions are developing such a vaccine, and at least four of them have tested in animals, according to The Guardian. Moderna, a company based in Boston, which launched the first trial, has already begun a human trial.

    “A vaccine undergoes several stages of trial. First, it’s tested on animal. Then, they move to a group of people,” said Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, coordinator of Clinical Research Unit at Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital. “Finally, the vaccine is tested on a community, which will allow researchers to measure its effectiveness. The success rate of the vaccine would determine how fast it can be ready.” A successful vaccine then has to be approved by health authorities, Pun said. If India develops a vaccine or receives patent for one, it will be easier for Nepal to speed things up, according to him.

    The Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI), based in Oslo, is helping hasten the process of vaccine development, according to The New Yorker magazine. “The problem is twofold. First, there may never be a market for a vaccine at the end of the development process, because the epidemic is contained, or never comes to pass,” Rachel Grant, the advocacy and communications director at CEPI told the magazine. “Then, traditionally, if there is an epidemic, it may take hold in a developing country where the costs of research and development cannot be recouped.”

    Read also: COVID-19: There is no medicine yet, don’t get misled by misinformation

    Will BCG vaccine be effective against COVID-19?

    Studies have shown Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a century-old vaccine named after the two French doctors who invented it, can be effective against other diseases also besides tuberculosis (TB). The vaccine, which helped fight the scourge of TB in Europe, entered Nepal over 40 years ago. Millions of people of Asia and Africa have received the vaccine, which has prevented them from contracting TB. Scientists in Australia and the Netherlands have started trials to test the BCG vaccine’s efficacy against COVID-19.

    “Mortality rates of COVID-19 appear to be low in countries that have made it mandatory for its people to vaccinate against tuberculosis. So, scientists have suspected it’s due to the BCG vaccine,” Dr Pun said. “But since the research hasn’t been published in peer-reviewed journal, it’s merely an assumption.” In his podcast, oncologist Dr Prakash Thapaliya said the notion that BCG vaccine could boost immunity for diseases other than TB was only a scientific assumption. “The BCG vaccine contains live bacteria. So, it could transmit TB to people instead of preventing the disease like COVID-19,” he said. It was too early to assume that BCG vaccine will make people immune to the disease, he added. “COVID-19 damages a patient’s lungs. As our body’s immune system fights against the disease, it creates chemicals which damage our lungs. If this process intensifies, it could exacerbate the problem,” he said.

    Nigel Curtis, an Australian infectious diseases researcher, told The New York Times that BCG wasn’t “a panacea,” but the study intended to help infected health workers return to work. A doctor based in Boston told The New York Times that he was seeking funds to start clinical trials on health workers and preliminary results would be available in four months.

    What are the most promising drugs under trial?

    The World Health Organization has launched a global trial called Solidarity Trial, under which four drugs are being tested. The under trial drugs include antiviral drug called remdesivir; the anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine; a combination of a pair of drugs called lopinavir and ritonavir for HIV; and the combination along with interferon-beta.

    Japanese company Fujifilm has launched a trial of anti-influenza drug called Avigan, developed by its subsidiary Toyama Chemical.

    Although it’s natural for scientists to seek medications for new diseases, a vaccine is the only perfect prevention for an infectious disease such as COVID-19, according to Dr Pun of the country’s primary hospital for infectious diseases.

    “Scientists have been trying a lot of things in search of a life-saving drug,” he said. “But they don’t have a definite answer yet.” The treatment so far has been based on symptoms. So, patients are given painkillers and other medicines, he added. The definite cure will emerge only after the drugs undergo randomized controlled trial, the gold standard of clinical trial, he said.

    Early on, American President Donald Trump pushed anti-malarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as a game changer for the treatment of COVID-19. In an investigative report, The New York Times recently revealed that Trump held stakes in a French company that produces the drug, which could be why he relentlessly promoted it. India, one of the biggest manufacturers of the drug, had banned its export after the outbreak of coronavirus. But New Delhi lifted the ban after Trump reportedly issued warnings against the move.

    :::::::::

    This article was originally published in South Asia Check – an independent, non-partisan, non-profit initiative by Panos South Asia, aiming to promote accuracy and accountability in public debate.



    author bio photo

    Deepak Adhikari  Deepak Adhikari is the editor of South Asia Check, a fact-checking organization.

      



    Comments

    Get the best of

    the Record

    Previous Next

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Features

    6 min read

    Dereliction of duty

    Dewan Rai - July 16, 2020

    A recently released parliamentary report points out many lapses in how the police handled the recent murders of Dalits in Rukum

    Features

    6 min read

    The lockdown, one year on

    The Record - March 24, 2021

    A year ago Nepal first went into lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19. A year later, new cases are rising once again.

    COVID19

    News

    2 min read

    Ten Covid deaths in the last 24 hours

    The Record , Record Nepal - August 12, 2020

    More people are getting critically ill, and dying, as Covid-19 continues to spread rapidly across Nepal

    COVID19

    Features

    4 min read

    Covid-19’s onslaught on Kathmandu’s real-estate

    The Record - November 2, 2020

    The economic meltdown caused by Covid-19 has left many of Kathmandu’s landlords without tenants

    Features

    Photo Essays

    8 min read

    Neglected by the state, broken by the pandemic

    Marissa Taylor - July 13, 2021

    With no government-approved curriculum, no policies and no financial support, madrasas have been struggling to provide quality education. And the pandemic has only made matters worse.

    Photo Essays

    4 min read

    Losing hope in Jeddah

    Nitu Ghale - January 13, 2021

    When the pandemic forced countries to go into lockdown, closing international borders, Nepali migrant workers in Saudi Arabia were forced into dire living conditions. This was their plea.

    Features

    5 min read

    Lessons we don’t learn from history

    The Record - December 15, 2020

    Determined to crush Maoist rebels instead of seeking a political solution, Oli is repeating the same mistakes Deuba made in the 90s which resulted in a decade-long people’s war

    COVID19

    Perspectives

    11 min read

    Amidst Covid-19 and climate change, a mental health crisis looms

    Shuvam Rizal - June 1, 2021

    While the state of mental health of Nepalis is largely unknown, estimates and anecdotal evidence suggest that the pandemic and climate crises have exacerbated problems.

    • About
    • Contributors
    • Jobs
    • Contact

    CONNECT WITH US

    © Copyright the Record | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy