News: The World Health Organization(WHO) has made available interim results from the Solidarity Therapeutics Trial.
Facts:
- What is Solidarity Trial: It was initiated by WHO and its partners in order to help find an effective treatment for Covid-19.
- Drugs Covered: It covers four repurposed drugs or drug combinations — remde sivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon.
- Aim: To help determine whether any of these repurposed therapies could at least moderately affect in-hospital mortality and whether any effects differed between moderate and severe disease.
- What have the trials found? None of the drugs was able to prove benefits across the parameters studied especially in reducing mortality among hospitalised Covid-19 patients.
Additional Facts:
- RECOVERY trial: It is a large randomised controlled trial conducted in the U.K.It aims to test five drugs to identify treatments that may be beneficial for people hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
- FAITH trial: It is a randomised open study trial conducted by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd to test the combined efficacy of two antiviral drugs — Favipiravir and Umifenovir as a potential COVID-19 treatment strategy.