WHO announces clinical trial to study 3 anti-malarial drugs as potential treatment against COVID-19

The trial involves thousands of researchers in over 600 hospitals in 52 countries.

Geneva: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a clinical trial to study three antimalarial and anti-inflammatory drugs as potential treatments for patients with Covid. The drugs -- artesunate, imatinib, and infliximab -- were selected by an independent expert panel for their potential in reducing the risk of death in hospitalised Covid-19 patients, the WHO said in a statement. The drugs are already in use for other conditions: artesunate is used for severe malaria, imatinib for certain cancers, and infliximab for diseases of the immune system such as Crohn`s Disease and rheumatoid arthritis.