ICMR releases plasma trials protocol, seeks registrations

MUMBAI: The Indian Council of Medical Research has announced the protocol of the trial for plasma therapy for critically ill Covid-19 patients. This will pave the way for the first official clinical trial in India towards finding a cure for the disease.

The ICMR has asked medical institutions, including those of state governments, which are interested in participating in this trial to register themselves with the clinical trial ethics committee, and the Drug Controller of India. It is unclear if private organisations can participate in the trial.

“Convalescent plasma is an experimental procedure for Covid-19 patients. Hospitals and institutions planning to provide this modality of treatment should do so in a clinical trial with protocols which are cleared by the institutional ethics committee,” the ICMR said in a statement on Sunday. The primary objective of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange in Covid-19 patients.

The therapy works on the science that the blood of a recovered Covid-19 patient would have developed antibodies against the coronavirus and when these antibodies are injected to an infected person, these would neutralize the virus on his body.