An Indian pharmacist died and his boss was left hospitalised after the pair drank a chemical concoction they had developed in an effort to treat coronavirus, police said on Saturday.
The men worked for a herbal medicine company and were testing their treatment – a mix of nitric oxide and sodium nitrate – at a home in southern Chennai city.
K Sivanesan, 47, died on the spot, said local police chief Ashok Kumar.
His colleague Rajkumar is recovering from the poisoning.
Kumar said Sivanesan bought the chemicals from a market and developed the formula after conducting internet research.
There are no approved medicines or vaccines for treating COVID-19, triggering a global race for a new drug for the disease that has killed nearly 300,000 people.
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India have seen record spikes in coronavirus cases this week, with John Hopkins reporting cases stand at 61,356 and the number of deaths at 2,041.