E-Paper
Covid-19 task force gauges treatment tech being developed
As far as vaccines for coronavirus disease are concerned, experts said these will take at least a year to be developed.
Among various treatment technologies being evaluated by the Centre’s Covid-19 task force are deployable or mobile hospitals; a DNA vaccine against the major viral membrane protein responsible for the cell entry of coronavirus; the development of antibodies; and an antibody gel to inactivate Sars-CoV-2 virus at the point of entry.
These are in various stages of research and development according to National Research Development Corporation’s (NRDC) Compendium of Indian Technologies for combating Covid-19 released on Wednesday. As far as vaccines are concerned, experts said these will take at least a year to be developed.
The compendium was launched by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, which has information on 200 Covid-19 technologies, ongoing research, and technologies already available for commercialisation. Most of these technologies are proof-of-concept (POC) tested, and can help entrepreneurs take the product to market faster, a statement issued by the Union ministry of Science & Technology said.
According to the compendium, Zydus Cadila, which is developing the viral membrane protein vaccine, is also involved in the development of a live attenuated recombinant measles virus vector vaccine against Covid-19; Bharat Biotech is developing an intranasal vaccine called ‘CoroFlu’; Indian Immunologicals Limited is developing a live attenuated severe acute respiratory syndrome vaccine which has been found to be effective in Golden Syrian Hamsters; and Serum Institute of India, in collaboration with US-based Codagenix, is developing a vaccine which is now in animal testing phase.
“The DNA vaccine involves giving a DNA which will produce certain proteins to help protect against the infection. No antigen will be given. The second measles virus vectored vaccine is nothing but a recombinant vaccine which will have a combination of measles RNA with Sars-CoV-2 virus RNA. The Serum Institute vaccine is also a recombinant vaccine,” said Dr Shobha Broor, Dr former head of the department of virology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
“As far as I know, these are all in development stage. They will go through pre-clinical trials in animals and then phase 1 trials in humans for safety and then phase 2 and 3. Trials may be expedited but normally it takes more than a year for all these processes,” added Dr Broor.
The compendium says deployable hospitals are already in development stage. Modulus, a start-up in the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras research park, has signed an MoU with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum to develop the technology. It adds that SCTIMST is also developing isolation pods -- with a cover and light bed -- for Covid-19 patients to help them travel safely.
