NIPER designs nebulizer-based inhalation therapy to fight COVID

We are working with regulatory authorities to get clearance: NIPER director

The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, is working with regulatory authorities to get approval for a nebulizer-based inhalation therapy it has designed for use in COVID patients.

The inhalation therapy for combating COVID-19 is very effective. “We are working with regulatory authorities to get clearance. We have done some clinical studies and hopefully, we will be getting a nod for conducting phase I human trials,” NIPER Hyderabad director Shashi Bala Singh said on Wednesday.

Addressing a virtual conference ‘Pharm-Exe’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with IMT Hyderabad, Ms. Singh mentioned the therapy as well as the re-purposing of two drugs, another project of NIPER, in the context of the need for enhanced industry-academia collaboration.

A release from CII said Ms. Singh said that 30% of the research in India is being conducted as part of industry-academia collaboration whereas globally it is close to 80%.

The Pharm-Exe conference on ‘Towards a self-reliant India and pharmacy of the world’ was inaugurated by Health Minister Eatala Rajender. Stating that Telangana is known as the bulk drug capital of India and accounts for 40% of the total bulk drug production in the country, the Minister said that the State supplied some of the vital drugs and other anti-viral drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in sufficient quantity.

Life sciences sector in the State is also poised to play a major role in developing COVID-19 vaccines and their bulk manufacturing. The State government with its progressive TS-iPASS policy and projects such as the proposed Pharma City will continue to support the industry, he said.

Vice-chairman and CEO of Natco Pharma Rajeev Nannapaneni said it is very critical for Indian pharma players to identify and focus on one or two key pharma products and work towards a global position with a significant market share.

CII leaders Krishna Bodanapu and Sameer Goel and IMT Hyderabad director M. Venkateshwarlu spoke in the inaugural session. The release said IMT Hyderabad is partnering with CII Telangana to commence a study on implications of COVID-19 on businesses in Telangana in key sectors such as IT, healthcare, tourism and pharma.

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