It happened to be a prospective randomised trial by PGIMER along-with AIIMS, Delhi and AIIMS, Bhopal to study the effectiveness of Mycobacterium w (Mw) vaccine, a drug used to treat leprosy, on the hospitalizd COVID- 19 patients.
PGIMER doctors used Mw as an adjunct while treating the critically ill patients of coronavirus and plans to use it further if required.
"The impact of Mw use on long-term safety and efficacy will only be known after the conclusion of this CSIR-supported clinical trial, which will be initiated soon at all three centres," read a PGIMER statement.
Mw—heat-killed Mycobacterium indicus pranii—was reportedly earlier sold as a vaccine for the deadly disease. PGI doctors, however, clarified that it was not a vaccine.
"The Mw is not a vaccine for COVID-19. It is an adjunctive immunomodulatory treatment (in addition to standard care) for patients with sepsis. Mw is one of the drugs that is going to be evaluated in COVID-19 patients, like many other treatments (remdesivir, tocilizumab, and others) that are being tried in this disease," said Dr GD Puri of PGIMER.
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In its statement, PGIMER said: "In a recently-concluded multi-centre trial, PGIMER found that Mw reduces mortality in ICU patients with severe sepsis."
PGI spokesperson, Dr Ashok said, "It is very early to comment on the outcome of the results and its use."
Mw was originally developed as an immunomodulator for leprosy which acts through the toll-like receptor pathway and enhances host-T cell responses. Mw can potentially decrease the cytokine storm seen among COVID-19 patients, and may thus be of potential benefit in managing these patients and decreasing mortality.