New Delhi. A four-year-old bioscience company based in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur is testing a drug effective for the treatment of coronavirus infection. If this drug meets all the parameters, then it will be India’s first indigenously developed drug to treat patients with mild and moderate symptoms of Kovid, which will be used for coronavirus infection.

The drug has given promising results in initial trials. With the use of this drug, the RT-PCR test of a corona-infected patient is coming negative in 72 to 90 hours. Company officials have given this information to The Indian Express. At present, the first phase of human trials of the drug is going on and it is expected to be completed by the end of August.

Isera Biologicals is just four years old company and has been manufacturing antiserum products till now. Such as effective drugs in the treatment of snake bites, dog bites, and diphtheria… although the company has also been getting some help from Serum India of India in this work. Meanwhile, the company has developed an effective cocktail of COVID antibodies and its use can prevent the spread of infection in patients with mild and moderate symptoms of Kovid and also eliminate the virus present in the body.

Former Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Professor NK Ganguly said, “So far this drug gives hope, but we should wait for the results of human trials. If the drug is found to be effective then it can prove to be very beneficial. Especially in a country like India. I think this medicine will also be cheaper as compared to the international products available in the market.”

Nandkumar Kadam, Director (New Product), Isaura Biologics, said, “The drug cocktail contains very specific COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies, which have been purified by removing all foreign chemicals. Antibodies were developed by injecting a special antigen extracted from the coronavirus into horses. Serum Institute of India has helped the company in selecting the right antigen. Also helped in the selection of chemicals, due to which antibodies are produced in the infected host. Horses were chosen to develop the antibodies, he said, because being large animals, they produce large amounts of antibodies.

Kadam said, “The process is similar to that of applying a vaccine. Horses were given certain antigens to produce antibodies. These antibodies are the same as the human body produces antibodies after being infected with the corona. High-quality procedures were used to purify the antibodies by taking them from the horses. So that the final antibody is at least 95 percent pure.

Let us tell you that the process of injecting special antibodies in corona patients has been tried before. There are many types of this procedure, such as plasma therapy. This therapy was once considered a boon for corona patients. However, its results were mixed. There is an important difference in plasma therapy because the blood plasma of patients who have recovered from corona varies from person to person. Along with this, there are other chemicals in the form of antibodies along with blood plasma, which shows different effects on the patient. This effect can also be harmful.

Isaura’s drug is a pure blend of very specific and prescribed COVID antibodies, which can be used on doctor’s advice. This drug is also said to be better than many other monoclonal products of its kind. Especially the drug developed by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, which is also being sold in India.

Kadam said that Isera’s products are a mixture of polyclonal antibodies and are more effective in killing the virus than monoclonal products. But, most importantly, they are also likely to be effective against new and old mutations of the corona.

It is believed that this drug will also be very cheap. Kadam said an injection would cost a few thousand rupees. However, it is important that the drug is given at an early stage of infection when the virus does not control the patient’s entire body.

The company plans to conduct Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials of the drug in September and October. If all goes well, then by the end of this year the company can launch its drug in the market.