The News Minute : Aug 18, 2020, 10:04 AM
Bengaluru: Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said on Monday night that she has tested positive for COVID-19, and has exhibited mild symptoms. "I have added to the Covid count by testing positive. Mild symptoms n I hope it stays that way," the 67-year-old tweeted.A biotech industry veteran based out of Bengaluru, Shaw recently questioned Russia’s claims of developing the world's first safe coronavirus vaccine, citing absence of data on clinical trials and "more advanced" programmes elsewhere.Biocon is one of the companies working in making drugs to fight COVID-19, and in July, received the approval of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for "restricted emergency use" of a repurposed injection, Itolizumab. It was originally launched in 2013 for treating chronic plaque psoriasis. Permission was granted to treat patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19, in particular those who developed cytokine storm - an immune reaction that can be fatal. However, the National Task Force on COVID-19 later decided against including itolizumab into the clinical management protocols as there was not enough evidence to prove that the drug was beneficial in treating patients. On Monday, Karnataka reported 6317 new COVID-19 cases and the state currently has almost 80,000 active COVID-19 patients. The highest number of patients were reported from Bengaluru Urban district. The city reported 2053 new patients on Monday and has a total of 34,408 patients.Many prominent people in the state have contracted the infection including Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The two veteran politicians and even Health Minister Sriramulu who had tested positive, recovered and were discharged.Other than them, a handful of ministers, MLAs, MPs like Sumalatha Ambareesh and film actors like Dhruva Sarja and his wife Prerana tested positive. All of them have recovered from their mild or asymptomatic infections.