To tackle Nipah, India to procure monoclonal antibody from Australia, says ICMR
The monoclonal antibody, an experimental therapeutic, was imported for the treatment of infected patients on compassionate grounds during the 2018 Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode
India is in the process of procuring at least 20 doses of monoclonal antibody from Australia to treat patients infected with the Nipah virus, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director general Rajiv Bahl said on Friday. India currently has about 20 doses of the antibody in store, the official said.
“We got some doses of monoclonal antibody from the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2018 when there was an outbreak of the disease. The University of Queensland manufactures the monoclonal antibody for use against Hendra virus that is a local problem. However, later it was found to be of use also against the Nipah virus infection,” Bahl said.
The monoclonal antibody, an experimental therapeutic, was imported for the treatment of infected patients on compassionate grounds during the 2018 Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode. At the time, it was not used as the outbreak ebbed by the time it arrived.
To be sure, currently there are no established treatments for Nipah infections. Passive immunotherapeutic treatments (such as monoclonal antibody therapies) are currently under development, and are used against the disease on “compassionate use” basis – in cases where potentially life-saving experimental treatments are administered for disease where there is no clear treatment.
“Phase 1 trial to establish the safety of the medicine has been performed so far with good results, but efficacy trials have not been done. It can only be given as compassionate use medicine,” Bahl said. The decision to use it, however, has to be of the Kerala government’s, besides that of doctors. “We do not know how effective these will be but we are keeping ourselves ready for any eventuality.”
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