Antibodies Against Chikungunya Developed by ILS Scientists
The Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneshwar research team has successfully developed antibodies against the Chikungunya viral (CHIKV) infection, after which it has entered into a non-exclusive license for product commercialization.
The antibodies were created following decade-long research on the CHIKV disease at the ILS lab headed by Dr. Soma Chattopadhyay, a senior molecular virologist. Dr. Chattopadhyay was chosen for its Biotech Product, Process Development and Commercialisation Award 2019 from the Department of Biotechnology.
The ILS will associate with a firm for product commercialization and promotion of antibodies in a 60:40 profit sharing basis.
Dr. Chattopadhyay sais that, the production of antibodies has had a substantial impact on the advancement of CHIKV-based research. It will help researchers understand numerous aspects of virus pathogenesis. Moreover, with higher light shed on the CHIKV infection biology utilizing these antibodies, researchers are now a step closer to creating efficacious antivirals and other management strategies to eradicate the Chikungunya virus.
Dr. Chattopadhyay’s team was the first to develop and characterize a novel, highly sensitive and specific polyclonal antibodies against the non-structural proteins – nsP1, nsP3, and nsP4 of all CHIKV. Additionally, her laboratory has also developed and characterized
a monoclonal antibody from nsP2 of CHIKV.The molecular virologist, who have over 20 decades of expertise in the field, along with her team, began working on this aspect as there was barely any information on the mechanisms CHIKV virus infection and pathogenesis.
She further added that these CHIKV proteins were selected as targets specifically due to their critical role in virus survival as they largely regulate the overall procedure for replication and disease in host cells. Development of these antibodies [nsP2 monoclonal, nsP1, nsP3, and nsP4 polyclonals] was, therefore, essential to do experiments pertaining to CHIKV disease, and thus advance their basic comprehension.
As per ILS sources, the antibodies developed are receiving a positive response and is being purchased by research labs from across the world.
The above news has been adapted from a post published at The Hindu.
