Bharat Biotech eyes human monoclonal antibody therapy for Covid-19

News:The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) has sanctioned a project to develop human monoclonal antibodies as a therapy for Covid-19 in the next six months.

Facts:

• The project was approved under CSIR’s New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative(NMITLI).
• Aim: To create an alternate therapy by generating highly effective and specific human monoclonal antibodies capable of neutralising SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
• Implementation: National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), IIT-Indore and PredOmix Technologies Pvt.Ltd. with Bharat Biotech International Ltd.(BBIL) as the commercialization partner. 

Additional Facts:

• NMITLI: It is the largest Public-Private partnership effort led by CSIR to catalyze innovation centred scientific and technological developments as a vehicle to attain for Indian industry a global leadership position, in selected niche areas.
• Monoclonal antibodies:These are man-made proteins that act like natural antibodies and work by identifying and binding to the virus to destroy it.
• Antibodies:It is a protective protein produced by the immune system in order to attack antigens.Antigen is a toxin or other foreign substance which induces an immune response in the body.