COVID-19: India begins the first human trial of possible vaccine

COVID-19: India begins the first human trial of possible vaccine

As the number of cases of coronavirus advances globally beyond the 6 million mark, scientists and experts are speeding up service to achieve the possible Covid-19 vaccine.

New Delhi has approved Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir for emergency use for five doses in the care of Covid-19 patients in what can be described as nothing short of a stepping stone in India 's battle against Covid-19.

Here is everything you need to know about this drug 

• Remdesivir, which is administered intravenously in hospitals, is the first drug to demonstrate improvement in formal clinical trials in Covid-19 patients and is at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 which has no approved medication or vaccine. Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration granted the medication emergency use authorization and has obtained approval from Japanese health regulators.

• South Korea has also approved the emergency use of Gilead Sciences Inc. remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19, in addition to the US and India.

• Earlier this week, Gilead said remdesivir demonstrated marginal benefit in patients with moderate Covid-19 given a five-day trial, although those who received it in the study for 10 days mostly failed to do so.

• A senior US Army vaccine researcher said it was fair to expect some kind of coronavirus vaccine to be available to a portion of the US population by the end of 2020.

• The American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has announced the first clinical trial of their Covid-19 potential drug. The infectious agent was obtained from the blood sample of an early US Covid-19 recipient, who successfully recovered from deadly contagion, according to the Indianapolis-based infectious-making company.

• Chairman of the Swiss multinational chemicals and biotechnology firm, Lonza, said the organization intends to speed up the completion of two commercial production lines for the Covid-19 vaccine Moderna Inc trial.

• The first findings of the world's largest randomized drug trial for Covid-19 patients will be available in early July, one of the UK-based research scientists named.

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