Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday presided over a meeting of the special task force to combat the coronavirus, where experts briefed him on vaccine development, diagnosis, testing and drug discovery. Scientists informed the prime minister that over 30 vaccines to fight Covid-19 are being developed, with a few going on to the trial stages.
The prime minister said in a statement that three approaches were being taken for drug development. “First, the repurposing of existing drugs,” it read. “At least four drugs are undergoing synthesis and examination in this category. Secondly, the development of new candidate drugs and molecules are being driven by linking high performance computational approached with laboratory verification. Thirdly, plant extracts and products are being examined for general anti-viral properties.”
In the area of testing and diagnosis, the Prime Minister’s Office said that several academic research institutions and start-ups have come up with new tests – for RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) and antibody detection. “In addition, by linking laboratories all over the country, capacity for both these kinds of tests have been enormously scaled up,” the statement said.
The PMO also noted the problem of importing reagents for testing, adding it has been addressed by a “consortia of Indian start-ups and industry, meeting current requirements”. Modi lauded the coming together of several fields of study, including biochemistry and computer science, for drug discovery.
The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 49,391 on Wednesday morning and the country recorded 1,694 fatalities, according to the figures from the health ministry. India has been in lockdown since March 25, and will remain in lockdown till at least May 17.
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