Coronavirus Treatment In-depth: Is blood plasma therapy a cure for COVID-19?

With the alarming rise of coronavirus cases all across the globe and India as well, here is a low-down on blood plasma therapy, a promising treatment option for this deadly virus.

By: DocsApp | | Updated: March 23, 2020 5:26 pm

Blood plasma is the liquid part of the blood which has antibodies in it. If you are wondering about antibodies, these are produced by our immune system to fight any infection in the body.

As the researchers all around the world work on developing a treatment for the COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2, there is a discussion on using the age-old technique of purified blood plasma as a resort. Doctors in China have used the technique to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients. Also Read - 'Coronil is evidence based medicine': Ramdev's Patanjali issues fact check response to IMA

After discovering that the blood plasma from recovered people can be possibly used as a treatment, a pharmaceutical company is on a drive to purify plasma from the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients. Also Read - COVID-19 vaccine for above 45: How to register and who is eligible? Everything answered

How does blood plasma treatment work?

Blood plasma is the liquid part of the blood which has antibodies in it. If you are wondering about antibodies, these are produced by our immune system to fight any infection in the body. Patients who have recovered from a deadly infection, develop antibodies for the pathogen, which are the foreign particles in the body – (virus, bacteria, etc) in their blood plasma. Also Read - Hospitalised COVID-19 patients with sodium imbalance at high risk of respiratory failure, sudden death

The blood is collected from recovered patients. The plasma part from this blood is tested to ensure it is safe and then the antibodies are extracted. Now, as a treatment for a COVID-19 patient, this plasma is injected in them. This is known as the “plasma-derived therapy” or convalescent plasma. This method provides passive immunity to the patient until the immune system makes its antibodies.Passive immunity is when the immune system gets pushed into generating antibodies, to fight the virus if given at the right time. The success rate of the plasma-derived therapy is yet to be determined for the Novel Coronavirus.

Is this therapy being used for COVID-19?

It was reported in February that doctors in Shanghai had used convalescent plasma therapy on a batch of newly infected patients with SARS-CoV-2. In a challenging time such as now when there is no treatment for COVID-19, it is valid to try new therapies to find the one that has a higher success.

Although scientists and doctors have indicated positive results from the use of the plasma infusion therapy, there are no published studies so far.

Is there a treatment based on plasma therapy?

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, a biopharmaceutical company from Japan has developed a medicine that uses the plasma therapy approach. The medicine is called intravenous immunoglobulin or IVIG and is used for patients who have immune disorders. This medicine is used to give antibodies to people with weaker immunity without causing any infection, and it has also been successful. However, to have a definite answer whether such treatment that uses plasma therapy is useful in treating COVID-19, more research needs to be done.

Is Takeda working on a treatment for COVID-19?

Yes, Takeda is working on a similar IVIG treatment for the Novel Coronavirus. The treatment is called TAK-888. Takeda is hopeful to use blood plasma from the recovered patients. Based on the success of other IVIG treatments by Takeda, it is estimated that there won’t be a need to send TAK-888 through detailed phase-I or phase-III studies on a larger group. This means that the medicine might become available to the general public sooner than the usual protocol.

The good part about the vaccine being developed by Takeda is that the researchers do not have to work on finding the exact antibodies that can fight the Novel Coronavirus. By collecting antibodies from recovered patients, they can easily target the SARS-CoV-2 patients.

Till the time we have a vaccine ready for COVID-19, the only way to prevent further spread of the disease is to take necessary precautions and self-quarantine.

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Published : March 23, 2020 5:12 pm | Updated:March 23, 2020 5:26 pm

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