Bharat Biotech Leads To Develop Antibodies Against Covid-19

NEW DELHI, 8 MAY 2020:

Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech, which is working on nasal vaccine CoroFlu against coronavirus in collaboration with US researchers, is also leading a CSIR-sanctioned project to develop human monoclonal antibodies as therapy for Covid-19 infection.

The project aims at an alternative therapeutic regimen by generating specific human monoclonal antibodies that are capable of neutralising SARS-CoV2 virus. Such antibodies can block the spread of infection by binding to the virus and rendering it ineffective.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has approved the project under its flagship programme New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative. National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, IIT-Indore and a Gurgaon-based company, PredOmix Technologies, will also collaborate with Bharat Biotech on the project.

Although different vaccines against Covid-19 are being developed across the world, their commercial production is bound to take a long time. Therefore, an alternative therapeutic regimen for early treatment is critical. Monoclonal antibody therapy is thus a highly effective and safe method, a company statement said.

On getting the CSIR approval for the project, Bharat Biotech CMD Krishna Ella said, “The purpose of vaccination is to protect the healthy against future infections and it alone may not provide the complete solution. We feel the monoclonal antibody therapy will provide a viable option.”

Talking about antibodies approach to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, the CMD said, “While both Israel and the Netherlands have recently announced the development of virus-neutralising antibodies, our approach is to develop a powerful cocktail of neutralising antibodies that can also simultaneously block mutational variants of the virus. We are fast-tracking the development process to make antibodies available within the next 6 months and thus improve the treatment efficacy”.

Bharat Biotech has simultaneously been working on nasal vaccine CoroFlu in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Ella had told TOI that the company is “hopeful that its nasal vaccine against Covid-19 will hit the market in the next 12- 18 months”. The company has till now developed 10 different viral vaccines. The Times Of India