PremiumNEW DELHI : The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday said it has developed highly purified 'antisera' for prevention and treatment of the novel coronavirus pandemic. "ICMR and Biological E. Limited, Hyderabad have developed highly purified antisera (raised in animals) for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19," read a statement from the ICMR.
Biological E. Limited is one among the listed entities, which have been allowed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to manufacture the vaccines for limited use. Other such entities are -- Serum Institute of India, Cadila Healthcare, Bharat Biotech International Limited, Biological E Limited, Reliance Life Sciences Pvt Limited, Aurbindo Pharma Limited, and Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Limited.
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Premium Premium The top medical body also stated that such measures have previously been used in medical science to control many viral and bacterial infections, including Rabies, Hepatitis B, Vaccinia virus, Tetanus, Botulism and Diphtheria.
"Although, plasma recovered from patients experiencing COVID - 19 could serve similar purpose, the profile of antibodies, their efficacy and concentration keep varying from one patient to another and therefore make it an unreliable clinical tool for patient management," the ICMR said.
Further, the ICMR added, "Standardization achievable through equine sera based treatment modality thus stands out as yet another remarkable public health initiative supported by ICMR in the time of COVID 19."
Meanwhile, India today recorded 86,821 new coronavirus cases and 1,181 fatalities in a span of 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 63,12,584.
Out of the total Covid-19 cases, 9,40,705 are currently active, 52,73,201 have been discharged, while 98,678 lost the battle against the deadly virus.
While India’s recovery rate stands at a whooping high of 83.53%, the fatality rate has come down to 1.56%, a recent data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare confirmed.
However, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit with around 13,84,446 Covid cases, including 36,662 deaths. Maharashtra is followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
As per the latest data from the ICMR, the country has conducted 14,23,052 sample tests in a single day on 30 September, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 7,56,19,781.
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