Pharmaceutical company, Sun Pharma, has commenced Phase 2 clinical trial on AQCH, a phytopharmaceutical (plant derived) drug for treatment of COVID-19 cases. In this trial, 12 centers in India will use this drug on 210 COVID-19 patients and the treatment duration for patients will be 10 days . This is the first phytopharmaceutical drug approved for clinical trial by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for COVID-19.
The results of this trial are expected by October 2020. Human safety study of AQCH has already been completed and the drug has been found safe at the recommended dose for Phase 2 study. The drug has shown anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects in in-vitro studies conducted in collaboration with International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Italy.
The company had received approval from DCGI for conducting Phase 2 clinical trials in April this year.
Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director, Sun Pharma said, “This is the first phytopharmaceutical drug approved for clinical trials by the DCGI as a potential treatment for COVID-19. AQCH has shown anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects in in-vitro studies conducted in collaboration with ICGEB, Italy. These results combined with information on mechanism of action through in-vitro and small animal studies give us the confidence to evaluate this potential treatment option for COVID-19 patients.”
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. Since 2016, Sun Pharma has been working very closely with DBT-ICGEB and CSIR-IIIM.
