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Brazilian scientists create serum with horse antibodies capable of neutralizing COVID-19

14/08/2020

A serum entirely developed in Brazil showed neutralizing antibodies up to 50 times more potent against Sars-CoV-2 than those present in the blood plasma of people who had COVID-19. The result was considered excellent by the scientists who developed the product and paves the way for a more efficient treatment against the disease. The researchers await authorization from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) to begin testing the serum in humans.

Plasma from people who have had COVID is already being used to treat the disease, as a way to offer extra antibodies to patients who are still struggling to fight the virus. The serum principle is similar.

The difference is that it is being produced on horses and, according to the first results, it is much more potent. These antibodies are then purified and can be injected into patients.

“We have to do everything very carefully so as not to create false illusions”, pondered the president of the Rio Research Foundation (Faperj), Jerson Lima Silva, who is a researcher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and participated in the project. “But the response was impressive, well above our expectations.”

The work will be submitted for publication on Thursday, 13, in a scientific session at the National Academy of Medicine (ANM). On the same occasion, Lima Silva, who is a researcher at UFRJ and participates in the project, will announce the filing of a serum patent.

In May, five horses from the Vital Brazil Institute (IVB) were inoculated with a recombinant S protein from the coronavirus produced at Coppe / UFRJ. After 70 days, the plasmas of four animals showed antibodies 20 to 50 times more potent against COVID-19. The fifth animal also showed antibodies but in a smaller volume.

“We are all thrilled with the result”, said the president of Instituto Vital Brazil, Adilson Stolet. “It was very good, excellent, wonderful.”

According to Lima Silva, one of the reasons for obtaining such a good immune response, both in terms of detected antibodies and its ability to kill the virus, is that scientists used an entire recombinant protein and not just fragments.

The protein S produced at the Cell Culture Engineering Laboratory at Coppe / UFRJ also led to the development of a new serological test for the detection of antibodies to COVID-19.

Serotherapy is a successful treatment, used for decades against diseases such as rabies and tetanus and also for the bites of bees, snakes and other venomous animals, such as spiders and scorpions. Serums produced by IVB have excellent results for clinical use, with no history of hypersensitivity or other possible adverse reactions.

“One of the advantages is precise that we have been using serums for a century, such as anti-phage and anti-tetanus,” said Adilson Stolet. “Not to mention the volume of plasma that can be produced. We have 300 animals, but we can buy another 500; in two months we would have an enormous amount of antibodies.”

As it is a well-known technology, the researchers hope to be able to skip the pre-clinical testing phase and go straight to testing with humans. There is already a partnership signed with the DOr Research and Teaching Institute (IDOR) for testing.

“Even if we do not achieve 100% efficiency, it could be a strategy to also combine this therapy with the vaccine”, concluded Lima Silva.

News from: UOL

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Brazilian scientists intend to use artificial intelligence to detect COVID-19 through coughing

10/07/2020

Scientists at the Butantan Institute and Fiocruz want to train the use of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of the disease and other lung conditions. The idea of such a program is to detect sound peculiarities that could be indicative of diseases.

The research began this week and its first phase consists of volunteers sending coughing audios. With this, the database obtained will assist in the training of artificial intelligence, which was developed by Intel.

Initially, the goal is to obtain 900 audios, of which 300 of them coming from healthy people, 300 from people diagnosed by Covid-19 by exams, and 300 with other lung diseases. Among healthy people, researchers want to force coughs from people who have had no symptoms of cough, fever, or shortness of breath in the past 30 days.

Participants with Covid-19 must be confirmed by molecular testing (PCR). In this case, the researchers will also collect data such as age, symptom days, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, among others.

Finally, for the group of people who cough without Covid-19, researchers look for diseases such as bacterial pneumonia, gastroesophageal reflux, asthma, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Only people over 18 can “donate” the cough, which should be done on SoundCov. On the website, the participant must record coughing audio (30 to 60 seconds) and then answer a questionnaire. The data collected by the survey is anonymous.

The public-private partnership was intermediated by the Competitive Brazil Movement (MBC), and also has participation from USP (University of São Paulo) and UFMS (the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul).

News from: Diário de Pernambuco

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BPTO will accelerate examination of patents related to combating Covid-19

09/04/2020

With a focus on stimulating the production and licensing of new technologies, BPTO will prioritize examining patent applications for innovations that can be used to combat the new coronavirus pandemic. The measure was made official through Ordinance No. 149/2020, published on April 7.

The prioritization is valid until 06/30/2021, as determined by Ordinance No. 149/2020.

The granting of a patent by BPTO attests that its object is new and guarantees the holder the exclusivity for use and licensing in Brazil (the patent has national validity). Therefore, with a patent granted, inventors gain more security to start production or license to a partner who can produce it.

Among the modalities of priority patent application, one of them is focused on health technologies, especially those strategic for the Unified Health System (SUS). Now, technologies related to combating the new coronavirus become part of this accelerated examination.

Technologies Observatory

Still in the context of the pandemic, INPI created, in March, the Observatory of Technologies Related to Covid-19. The objective is to disseminate technologies that can contribute to coping with the situation, including vaccines, medications, diagnostic tests, masks, and health equipment. Initiatives on funding and incentives for research in this area are also being disseminated.

Among the recent updates, the Observatory presents a study on patents filed with BPTO regarding diagnostic methods for Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses.

In this way, the relevant information is contributed to public agents and members of the National Innovation System who are directly linked to fighting the disease. For more information, visit the Observatory.

News from: BPTO

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MSF calls for patents not to be created on treatments and vaccines against the new coronavirus

01/04/2020

The international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) this weekend called for no patents to be granted and no speculation about drugs, tests or vaccines developed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the new coronavirus. They also asked governments to prepare to suspend and replace patents and take other measures, such as price controls, to ensure availability, reduce prices and save more lives.

Canada, Chile, Ecuador and Germany have already taken steps to facilitate patent replacement by granting “compulsory licenses” for medicines, vaccines and other medical tools to Covid-19. Likewise, the Israeli government granted a compulsory license for patents on a drug they were investigating for use against the disease.

After intense criticism from civil society groups and MSF, the pharmaceutical corporation Gilead has just renounced a special designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would allow prolonged monopoly control over 20 years of patents applied for in more than 70 countries for its potential candidate for Covid-19 treatment, remdesivir. Preliminary results from clinical trials using remdesivir to treat Covid-19 are expected in April. However, Gilead has not yet committed to not applying its patents globally.

MSF is deeply concerned about access to future drugs, tests and vaccines against the new coronavirus in places where MSF works and in other countries affected by this pandemic. The organization asks governments to prepare to suspend or replace Covid-19’s medical tool patents by issuing mandatory licenses. Removing patents and other barriers is critical to helping ensure that there are enough suppliers selling at prices everyone can afford.

American diagnostic test maker Cepheid offers another example of pandemic profit. The company has just received the US FDA Emergency Use Authorization for a rapid Covid-19 test (Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2) that provides results in just 45 minutes, using existing test machines that have been routinely used for tuberculosis, HIV and other diseases.

Cepheid has just announced that it will charge $ 19.80 per test in developing countries, including the poorest countries in the world, where people live on less than $ 2 a day. Research from MSF and other institutions on Cepheid’s tuberculosis test – which uses a similar tuberculosis test cartridge, for which the corporation charges $ 10 in developing countries – shows that the cost of products, including manufacturing, overhead and other expenses for each cartridge is $ 3, so each test can be sold at a profit for half the price: $ 5.

MSF warned that high prices and monopolies will result in the rationing of medicines, tests and vaccines, which will result in the prolongation of this pandemic.

News from: Paranashop