As drug makers worldwide are pushing towards giving their best, to find a cure to fight this notorious virus, we might have a hero with us in our very own city, Bengaluru. With more than 3 lakh deaths worldwide, and after causing immense distress to the financial sector, the only way to get out of this virusy situation is a vaccine or a remedy to overcome the symptoms. Fortunately many of our Indian counterparts are almost on the brink of a breakthrough.
One such big name is Sun Pharma, a pharmaceutical company based out of Bengaluru said on Friday it was testing a plant-derived drug, AQCH, for the potential treatment of Covid-19 as part of a mid-stage trial, with results expected by October. AQCH is derived from tropical, climbing shrub cocculus hirsutus, which is used in Asia for its apparent medicinal properties.
The company said the trial will be conducted across 12 centers in India in 210 patients and a human safety study of the drug has been completed. AQCH, which is being developed for dengue, has shown broad antiviral effect in in-vitro studies and hence is being tested as a potential treatment option for Covid-19,” the company said in a statement.
