Drug regulator okays limited use of Itolizumab for Covid-19 patients

India's drug regulator has approved Itolizumab, used to cure skin ailment psoriasis, for restricted emergency use on Covid-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress, officials said.

Considering the unmet medical needs to treat Covid-19, Drugs Controller General of India Dr V G Somani approved monoclonal antibody injection Itolizumab for restricted emergency use for the treatment of 'cytokine' release syndrome in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome patients due to Covid-19, they said on Friday.

"The approval was given after its clinical trials on Covid-19 patients in India was found satisfactory by the expert committee comprising pulmonologists, pharmacologists