Drug controller clears psoriasis injection to treat Covid-19 patients

New Delhi: The Drug Controller General of India has approved the use of Itolizumab, a drug to cure psoriasis, for “restricted emergency use” to treat Covid-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress.

“The approval was given after its clinical trials on Covid-19 patients in India was found satisfactory by the expert committee comprising pulmonologists, pharmacologists and medicine experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, among others, for treatment of cytokine release syndrome,” an official said.

There is no cure for the coronavirus, and treatment is symptomatic, though the recovery rate both in India and globally is high. On June 13, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare approved the use of remdesivir for “restricted emergency use” in moderate cases.