Trials of Mycobacterium w vaccine for coronavirus COVID-19 treatment to begin soon, says PGIMER Chandigarh

The researchers at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh on Sunday (April 26) said that the Mycobacterium w (Mw) vaccine is not a vaccine for coronavirus COVID-19 and will be used only as an adjunct. 

It is to be noted that PGIMER, AIIMS Delhi and AIIMS Bhopal will jointly study the use of Mycobacterium w (heat-killed Mycobacterium indicus pranii) as adjunct to the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The Mw vaccine is normally used to treat leprosy patients. The vaccine was originally developed as an immunomodulator for leprosy and it acts through the toll-like receptor pathway and enhances host-T cell responses. 

"In a recently concluded multi-center trial, we found that Mw reduces mortality in ICU patients with severe sepsis. Mw can potentially decrease the cytokine storm seen in patients with COVID-19, and may thus be of potential benefit in managing these patients and decreasing mortality. In the pre-study phase, we assessed safety of Mw in four hospitalized patients with COVID-19, and found no short-term adverse effects. The impact of Mw use on long term safety and efficacy will only be known after conclusion of this CSIR-supported clinical trial, which will be initiated soon at all three centres. It is very early to say about the outcome of results and its use," a PGI spokesperson said.

India has so far reported 826 coronavirus deaths with a mortality rate of 3.1 per cent while world wide it is 7 per cent. The recovery rate in India has been steadily increasing and has gone up to 22% which is much better than other countries of the world. So far, in India as many as 5,913 people have been cured of the COVID-19 infection.