CHENNAI: Remember Joel Pinto of Chennai, who drove all the way to Hyderabad to procure Tocilizumab and to help his father fight Covid? The patented drug, which is used to suppress inflammation and costs Rs 92,000, was in short supply in the city. Within two weeks of the man’s frantic trip to lay his hands on the drug, the State government has made arrangements to procure 1,000 units of Tocilizumab from the US by next week.
Speaking to Express, P Umanath, MD of TN Medical Service Corporation, said, “Each 20-ml unit (bottle) comes in the strength of 400 mg. Government hospitals have so far received 300 units. Earlier it was made in Japan, but now its made only in the US.” The drug, which is used for Rheumatoid Arthritis, has been in news of late with its demand going up. Many people on Twitter had also sought help to lay their hands on the drug.
Though touted to be a ‘wonder drug,’ experts, however, are not so sure about its efficacy as trials are underway globally. Infectious Diseases Specialist Ram Gopalakrishnan of the Apollo Hospitals said Tocilizumab is a drug not proven to work on Covid patients and must be used carefully. “Randomised control trials are the gold standard for proof and results are awaited. As of now, the drug is being used based on retrospective study. It is a lower standard of evidence and not accepted scientifically,’’ he said.
However, the drug might be of benefit for severe Covid patients who have cytokine storms, he added. “It can be used on people who are in ICU or on ventilator, whose inflammation levels are very high. However, it might hinder the immune system’s response to bacterial infections and lead to doubling the rate of infection,” Gopalakrishnan warned.
Dr Subramanian Swaminathan of Gleneagles Global Hospital said Tocilizumab is used when the Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels are high in a patient as the drug has anti IL-6 compounds. “However, there are chances of a hundred per cent negative reactions as well. Wrong use may lead to bacterial and fungal infections,’’ he added.
Dr Swaminathan said Tocilizumab can be used on patients on ventilator or those who showed no signs of recovery. There might a benefit when it comes to overall survival rate after using the drug, he said.
Suggesting an alternative to reduce inflammation, Dr Gopalakrishnan said, “Dexamethasone has also shown results in reducing inflammation. It also reduces chances of death by one-third for patients on ventilator and by one-fifth for those on oxygen.’’ Meanwhile, reacting to complaints of Tocilizumab being sold in black market, Director of Drug Control Department K Sivabalan said strict action will be taken against those who indulge in such activities. The MRP for the drug is Rs 92,000 and it cannot be sold higher than that, he said.
Sold at higher price
It may be noted that a few patients had told Express that they came across several instances where the drug was being sold for Rs 1.5 lakh