BHUBANESWAR: Sixteen top biotechnology labs and research institutes under the Department of Biotechnology of the Union Government have joined hands to take the fight against coronavirus to the next level. The scientists will be focusing on three aspects - development of antibodies, trial of existing anti-viral drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration and, most importantly, genome sequencing. “A detailed proposal is being prepared by the consortium of labs at the national level.
Once the proposal is ready, research on all three aspects would start simultaneously at different laboratories. The positive indication is that we still do not have community transmission which is also a matter of research,” a senior scientist at a Bhubaneswar-based biotechnology lab said. As the novel coronavirus is new to the researchers, they believe, it is essential to decode its first complete genome sequence that can lead to development of vaccines and test the effectiveness of antiviral drugs to treat Covid-19 patients.
“Genome analysis had helped trace the origin of transmission in case of Ebola, Zika and Nipah viruses. It is now important to understand the evolution of the new strain of the coronavirus family and its viability to identify the path of its spread and subsequent mutations,” the scientist said. Apart from the genome sequencing, identification of antibodies among the recovered patients will also be conducted. A human body’s first line of defence against any infectious virus is an antibody.
Once the antibodies are discovered, those can be injected into a sick person to stimulate his/her immune system that would speed up recovery. “Besides, the testing of existing anti-viral drugs and formulations kept at different Government approved chemical libraries would be conducted. Like the anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine, there may be other anti-viral drugs with which Covid-19 cases can be tested.
We are awaiting for approval for clinical trial of the existing drugs,” the scientist added. Bhubaneswar-based Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) is one of the 16 DBT laboratories of the country. ILS Director Dr Ajay Parida said the research will start after screening and containment of the disease. Several factors that may be included in the research module are being considered. Nothing has been finalised as yet, he added.