Pankajakasthuri Herbals India announced significant success in their study to find a treatment for the novel coronavirus patients.

The company released the successful completion of the clinical trials for its tablet, ZingiVir-H as an add-on therapy for the pandemic. The clinical trials were conducted on 116 patients infected by COVID-19 at medical colleges across the country, with 58 being administered Zingivir-H and the rest were given a placebo. The studies found that 58 patients treated with the herbo-mineral drug, ZingiVir-H recovered and reported a negative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) recovery in an average of five days while others took an average of eight days to recover. The clinical trials of ZingiVir–H have been completed following the guidelines provided by the World Health Organization and the final results have been submitted to the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) for approval.

Talking about the completion of the clinical trials, Dr J Hareendran Nair, Founder and MD of Pankaja Kasthuri Herbals and Pankajakasthuri Herbal Research Foundation said, “It gives me immense pride and honour to announce that our medication, ZingiVir–H, has been successful in providing much-needed assistance and help to COVID-19 patients in their recovery. This is one of the first herbo-mineral drug and ayurvedic medicine for COVID-19 that has achieved a negative RT PCR test as a primary endpoint.”

The clinical studies took place at KR Hospital, Mysuru, Karnataka; RCSM Medical College and CPR Hospital, Kolhapur, Maharashtra; Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana.

“We wanted to test the efficacy of the drug, which is made with seven ingredients, on patients in various hospitals across the country. This has further encouraged us and strengthened our belief that Ayurveda-based drugs can play a vital role in this fight against COVID-19. We are also soon planning to announce the results of the ongoing clinical trial with standalone treatment on 135 patients”, Dr Nair added.

Commenting on the Ministry of AYUSH to expedite the process of necessary approvals for all the Ayurveda drugs that are undergoing clinical trials in various hospitals in the country, Dr Nair said, “Today, when millions of people suffering from this harmful disease and are in hospitals battling the virus, I would like to urge the Ministry of AYUSH to support scientifically-backed modern Ayurveda-based treatments and drugs that have long-lasting benefits and can help save lives. At PKHIL, we are equipped to scale up and meet the requirements of the nation, once necessary approvals are issued by the ministry.”

Pankajakasthuri Herbals India submitted the first reports of ZingiVir-H to Ministry of AYUSH at the end of June 2020, while the interim report of 42 patients examined by a peer review committee was submitted on July 8 and the primary endpoint result of 116 patients was submitted to on July 24. The company is expecting the final decision from the ministry soon.