Last Updated : Oct 02, 2020 09:32 AM IST | Source: PTI

ICMR, Biological E Ltd develop potential treatment for COVID-19

"The ICMR and Biological E Limited, Hyderabad, have developed highly purified antisera (raised in animals) for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19," the apex health research body said on Thursday.

PTI
Image: STR/AFP
Image: STR/AFP

The ICMR in collaboration with a Hyderabad-based biopharmaceutical company has developed "highly purified antisera" prepared by injecting inactivated SARS-CoV2 in horses, which can be a potential treatment for COVID-19.

"The ICMR and Biological E Limited, Hyderabad, have developed highly purified antisera (raised in animals) for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19," the apex health research body said on Thursday.

The ''antisera'' is yet to undergo human clinical trials to establish its safety and efficacy and Drugs Controller General of India would be approached soon in this regard, Dr Samiran Panda, the head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.

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Antisera are blood serum high in antibodies against specific antigens and are injected in humans to help kickstart the immune system to fight specific infections.

COVID-19 Vaccine

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

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There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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The pre-print version of the study regarding the development of the equine antisera has been posted on Research Square platform.

"The study provides evidence of the potential of generating highly purified F(ab'')2 from equines against SARS-CoV-2 that can demonstrate consistent and high neutralization activity. Further, in-vivo testing for efficacy of this indigenously developed, cost effective product will pave the way to clinical evaluation. Additionally, being a donor independent method, this may prove as an efficient alternative to convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19 patients," the study paper said.

Earlier such measures were used for controlling several viral and bacterial infections.

"Although, plasma recovered from patients experiencing COVID-19 could serve similar purpose, the profile of antibodies, their efficacy and concentration keep varying from one patient to another and therefore make it an unreliable clinical tool for patient management," the ICMR said in a tweet.

"Standardization achievable through equine sera based treatment modality thus stands out as yet another remarkable public health initiative supported by ICMR in the time of COVID-19," it said.

As part of the study, 10 healthy horses were immunized with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus and after 21 days of immunization, plasma samples were tested.

The results of the plasma samples indicated presence of indicated the presence of SARS-Co-V2 specific IgG antibodies as detected in ELISA with neutralizing capacity. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.
First Published on Oct 2, 2020 09:33 am

tags #biological e #coronavirus #Covid-19 #Current Affairs #ICMR #Indai