New Delhi: An IIT Delhi research has found the clinically-approved drug ‘Teicoplanin’ to be a potential therapeutic option against COVID-19.
It is apparently 10 times more effective than most of the drugs being currently used to treat the coronavirus.
Carried out by the institute’s Kusuma School of Biological Science, the study screened an assemblage of 23 approved drugs which have shown that they could be options in treatment of coronavirus.
“The effect of Teicoplanin was found to be 10-20 fold more effective than other important drugs already being used against SARS-CoV-2, such as Lopinavir and Hydroxychloroquine in our laboratory conditions,” IIT Delhi Prof. Ashok Patel was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
Patel has been heading the research, assisted by Dr Pradeep Sharma from AIIMS. The findings have been published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.
Teicoplanin is an FDA-approved glycopeptide antibiotic, which is regularly used for treating Gram-positive bacterial infections with low toxicity profile in humans.
“Recently, there has been a clinical study carried out with Teicoplanin at Sapienza University in Rome. However, a more detailed clinical investigation is required on a large cohort, in different stages like mild, moderate and critically ill patients to conclude the definite role of Teicoplanin against COVID-19,” Patel said.
Over 60 lakh people have tested positive for coronavirus in India so far, with number of recoveries being 50.17 lakh and death toll 95,542.
