World's 1st fast-acting Anti-Rabies drug to be launched in India
World’s first fast-acting anti-rabies drug Rabies Human Monoclonal Antibody (RMAb) will be launched in India.
The drug has been developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) and US-based MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
About RMAb
- RMAb drug is a human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that instantly deactivates rabies virus by specifically binding to a conformational epitope of G glycoprotein of the virus.
- It is 25% cheaper compared to the existing expensive human rabies immunoglobulin (hRIG) treatment.
- It has advantage of automatically precluding the chances of transmitting blood-borne infections that are present in rabies immunoglobulin vaccines.
- The drug has been manufactured using recombinant DNA technology that includes inserting DNA encoding antigen (such as a bacterial surface protein) to the microbial DNA of cells in the body to stimulate immune response.
- During various phases of human clinical trials of RMAb spanning 9 years in India and abroad, the drug was found to be safe and effective.
Month: Current Affairs - February, 2016