CSIR, Mylan to collaborate to identify advance therapeutic ways for Covid

A series of clinical trials will be conducted towards new and innovative solutions to manage Covid-19 pandemic in India as part of this collaboration

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Mylan Laboratories Limited will collaborate to identify potential therapies for COVID-19, the country's premier research body said in a statement on Wednesday.

A series of clinical trials will be conducted towards new and innovative solutions to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in India as part of this collaboration.

The first of the clinical trials to be rolled out is a multiple-arm phase 3 study that will be conducted in adult patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 at risk of complications, it said.

"The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), India's premier research organisation, and Mylan Laboratories Limited, the India-based subsidiary of leading global pharmaceutical company Mylan, today announced a partnership to address unmet patient needs amidst the evolving COVID-19 pandemic," according to the statement.

"Under the partnership, CSIR's constituent laboratory Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) and Mylan will collaborate to identify potential therapies for COVID-19," it added.

CSIR Director General Shehkar C Mande said the current collaboration with Mylan is a significant milestone and during the current COVID-19 pandemic, CSIR has prioritised conducting clinical trials of well-proven drugs in partnership with industry towards the development of multiple therapeutic options for COVID-19.

Mylan Chief Operating Officer Sanjeev Sethi stated, "This partnership will also help us identify multiple molecules that can potentially be leveraged in therapies for various other infectious diseases in the future."

The application for clinical trials has been submitted to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for regulatory approval.