The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in collaboration with Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Biological E have developed highly purified antisera (raised in animals) for prophylaxis and treatment of the infectious disease.
The announcement was made by ICMR on its official Twitter handle. "ICMR and Biological E Limited, Hyderabad have developed highly purified antisera (raised in animals) for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19," the ICMR tweeted.
ICMR said that such measures have previously been used in medical science to control many viral and bacterial infections such as Rabies, Hepatitis B, Vaccinia virus, Tetanus, Botulism and Diphtheria.
"Although plasma recovered from patients experiencing COVID-19 could serve a 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.
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ICMR further said that the standardisation achievable through equine sera based treatment modality thus stood out as another remarkable public health initiative supported by ICMR in the time of COVID-19.
Biological E. Limited is one among the listed entities, which have been allowed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to manufacture the vaccines for limited use.
Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 caseload inched closer to 64 lakh-mark with 81,484 infections reported in a day, while the number of people who recuperated from the disease crossed 53 lakh pushing the recovery rate to 83.70 per cent, the Union health ministry said on Friday.
The total number of coronavirus cases in the country mounted to 63,94,068, while the death toll climbed to 99,773 with the infection claiming 1,095 lives in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry data updated at 8 am on Friday. The total recoveries have surged to 53,52,078. There are 9,42,217 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 14.74 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
