New Delhi: Biotechnology major Biocon on Wednesday said its subsidiary has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for a medical device to treat critical COVID-19 patients.
Biocon Biologics, a unit of the company, has got DCGI nod for an extracorporeal blood purification device CytoSorb to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines levels in confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit with confirmed or imminent respiratory failure, Biocon said in a statement.
The company has been granted licence for emergency use of CytoSorb in public interest to treat COVID-19 patients who are 18 years of age or older, it added.
The licence will be effective until control of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, Biocon said.
"DCGI approval for emergency use of CytoSorb for critical COVID-19 patients is an important example of how industry and regulators are working in tandem to urgently provide physicians and patients with new treatment options in the fight against COVID-19," Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said.
CytoSorb will be an important addition to the Indian medical community's arsenal against the deadly coronavirus, she added.