COVID-19: India In Final Stages Of Framing Protocols For Clinical Trial Of Plasma Therapy

ICMR said "We are in the final stages of making a protocol for plasma therapy" (Representational)

India is in the final stages of framing a protocol for conducting clinical trial for convalescent plasma therapy, which uses antibodies from the blood of cured patients, to treat severely-ill COVID-19 patients, a senior ICMR official said.

Kerala is set to become the first state in the country to commence the therapy to treat those critically-ill on a trial basis.

The ICMR is learnt to have given its nod to the Kerala government for the first of its kind project, initiated by the prestigious Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), a top official had said.

The ICMR official on Thursday said they would need approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) before embarking on any clinical trial using the therapy.

He said that it is not currently used or prescribed for patients in India.

"We are in the final stages of making a protocol for convalescent plasma therapy and after that we will need approval from the DCGI. As of now it will be used only in clinical trials," he said, adding that the therapy was successful in limited clinical trials in some countries on patients who were in a severe condition or on ventilator support.