Bengaluru-based HCG Hospital has been given approval to conduct clinical trials of plasma therapy on Covid-19 infected patients, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in a letter to HCG Bangalore Institute of Oncology Speciality Centre stated recently.
The permission has been granted by the Drugs Controller General of India under the provisions of New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules, 2019 with several conditions. “Grant of permission given to conduct clinical study in India entitled “Open label, parallel arm, Phase I/II Clinical Trial to evaluate safety and efficacy of Convalescent plasma as therapy for COVID-19 Severe SARS-Cov-2 Disease,” the letter said.
Sharing the letter on his Twitter handle, the Minister for Medical Education, Dr K Sudhakar, wrote, “Plasma therapy holds great promise in treating Covid-19 patients and I am happy to inform ICMR agreed to our request and has given permission for plasma treatment to Dr. Vishal Rao, HCG Bangalore Inst of Oncology.” Sudhakar tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa while sharing the information.
Plasma therapy involves transfusing the antibodies of a person who has recovered from the COVID-19 infection on to a critically ill patient, to help boost the patient’s immunity. China and the United States have claimed that the transfusion has helped treat critically ill patients.