ICMR invites drugmakers to produce equine antiserum against COVID-19

Antiserum is blood-based serum containing antibodies against the virus. This particular equine antiserum was isolated by the ICMR led National Institute of Virology, Pune.

Moneycontrol News

June 26, 2020 / 01:37 PM IST

2 | Next crop of COVID-19 vaccine developers take more traditional route: The handful of drugmakers dominating the global coronavirus vaccine race are pushing the boundaries of vaccine technology. The next crop under development feature more conventional, proven designs. The world will need several different vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, given the sheer size of global need, variations in effects on different populations, and possible limits of effectiveness in the first crop. Many leading candidates now in final-stage testing are based on new, largely unproven technology platforms designed to produce vaccines at speed.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has reportedly invited applications from drug makers for the development of ‘equine antiserum’ against the novel coronavirus.

Antiserum is blood-based serum containing antibodies against the virus. Blood is obtained from patients/animals who have recovered from a virus and found to have antibodies against it in their system. Antibodies from horses – known as equine antisera are quite common.

This particular equine antiserum was isolated by the ICMR led National Institute of Virology, Pune. The inactivation of the virus isolates – which in laboratory tests produced antigens – were standardised and will be developed into an antiserum. Antigens are a precursors to antibodies.

The Council will provide non-exclusive licence to manufacturers and 5 percent royalty on sales to be used towards technology development for manufacture, sale and commercialisation of the product, said a report by The Economic Times.

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COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

How many types of vaccines are there?

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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