Medicines used in Covid-19

During this pandemic, millions of people died. The pharmaceutical industry, as well as doctors and nurses, devote the majority of their time to curing people by providing medications and services that they are capable of providing.

In this article, We’ll talk about those drugs and how they work. These days, the following medications are available:-

• Remdesivir Injection
• Tocilizumab Injection ( Actemra )
• Baricitinib Tab ( Olumiant )
• Virafin
• Ivermectin Tab ( Mectin, Ivlor )
• Azithromycin Tab ( Azithral, Zithromycin )
• Paracetamol Tab ( Dolo, Calpol )
• Zinc Tab ( Zinfate, Zincovit, Folinz )
• Vitamin C tab ( Sukcee, Frutcee )

Now, let’s take a quick look at these drugs:-

Remdesivir Injection :

The patent of this medicine is with US Pharma company Gilead, but in India two pharma company is provided allowance to manufacture Remdesivir. They are hetero and Cipla. Remdesivir is antiviral drug. Earlier it was used in Ebola and Hepatitis C. It is lyophilized pro drug. Pro drug is the drug which remain inactivated until they are injected inside the body. But when it is injected inside the body they become active. Viruses have ssRNA as their genetic material. When a virus infects a cell, it causes it to replicate. RNA polymerase is the key enzyme in this process, as it simplifies the nucleotide components that make up the RNA strand. Remdesivir presents as an unseen nucleotide to this enzyme. Remdesivir is grabbed by the RNA polymerase and added to the chain. After this nucleotide are unable to attach thus it leads to chain termination.

Tocilizumab Injection :

This drug is manufactured by Roche. The common trade name by which this medicine is sold is Actemra . It is known by ” Rich man’s drug ” because its costs between Rs 40000-50000. It is an anti-Interleukin-6 receptor monoclonal antibody. It inhibits the inflammatory storm, preventing the patient from becoming severely ill and lowering the fatality rate in severe Covid-19 cases. Our bodies have created a full immune system, which includes diverse kines of immune cells, to protect us from viruses. However, some viruses get rid off which can result in the activation of immune cells, which can then recruit more immune cells, worsening the inflammatory storm. A sizable quantity. A large number inflammatory cell in lungs can block gas exchange resulting in acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Barcitinib Tab:

Barcitinib is manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company. This is sold under the brand name Olumiant. This medication is primarily used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Cipla has partnered with Eli Lilly to manufacture and commercialize Barcitinib in India. The FDA approved a combination of Barcitinib and Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19 emergency patients in November 2020. It reduces the amount of time it takes to recuperate. Barcitinib is a JAK-1 and JAK-2 inhibitor. It inhibits numb associated kinase (NAKs), which decreases viral infectivity and consequently viral endocytosis. It acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the JAK-1 and JAK-2 pathways, which in turn inhibits the production of IL-6, interferons, and other pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Virafin:

This drug is manufactured by Zydus cadila. It is an antiviral drug used for the treatment of Hepatitis B and C. It is now allowed for emergency used for corona during moderate to high symptoms. It lowers the requirement of oxygen support.

Ivermectin Tab:

This drug is manufactured by Merck. It is sold by brand name Mectin, Ivlor, Ascapil and many more. In a 24-hour trial, the number of cell-associated viral DNA was reduced by 99.8%. They’re mostly used to treat parasitic infections like intestinal worms, but they’ve lately shown to be effective against a variety of viral medications. Viruses normally require cargo transporter to enter the nucleus. Ivermectin is hypothesized to disrupt the cargo transporter, preventing it from making copies of itself and so preventing the nucleotide from growing.

Azithromycin Tab:

This medicines comes by various trade name like Zithromycin, Azithrocin, Azithral and many more. It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used to treat infections of the lungs and throat. In the case of viral infection, it is ineffective. During Covid treatment, it’s possible that you’ll get a bacterial lung infection, which can lead to pneumonia. Azithral is prescribed for this reason.

Zinc Tab:

Zinc has the ability to improve the ability of WBCs, particularly neutrophils, to fight infection. Zinc may be able to stop the ribonucleic acid polymerase from replicating the virus’s RNA. Zinc is not stored in the body. Fruits and vegetables should be consumed in large quantities. Zinc absorption is reduced by legumes and whole grains. It is recommended that you eat sprouts. Alcohol should be avoided because it decreases its absorbance and increases its excretion. Higher level of zinc stimulates lower level of inflammation.

Vitamin C Tab (Ascorbic acid) :

It’s a powerful antioxidant. We can’t store vitamin C because it’s water soluble. It lowers the risk of getting a viral respiratory illness. In the ICU, it may  limit the  anti-inflammatory effect. It has the potential to lessen the anti-inflammatory impact of Ibuprofen for a longer period of time.