One of the leading drug manufacturers in India, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, announced its new TV vaccine against rabies called ‘ThRabis.’
ThRabis is the world’s first three-dose novel vaccine made using virus-like particle technology. In technical terms, it is a recombinant nano-particle-based G-Protein vaccine. However, the most crucial feature of the vaccine is all three doses are given within a week.
It’s a breakthrough in treating rabies because existing vaccines against rabies have five doses to be administered over four weeks/28 days to eliminate the threat of the virus from spreading.
Launching the new vaccine ThRabis, Cadila Pharmaceuticals CMD Rajiv Modi said, “Animal bite victims fail to complete the full course of the vaccine because of the long and complicated dosing schedule, leaving many victims susceptible to developing rabies, a fatal condition. With this new three-dose vaccine, we can save many more lives.”
Nearly 59,000 animal bite victims die of rabies every year, a vast majority of them from Asia and Africa. More than 20,000 people die of rabies in India alone, unable to complete the entire five dosages of the available vaccine.
The company also revealed some survey-based data pertinent to India. According to the data, out of the 1.5 crore animal bite victims (predominantly bitten by dogs), only 30 lakh people visit a doctor to get treated with a rabies vaccine. Nonetheless, some 30 pc of them skip the fourth dosage, and 40 pc miss the last dose resulting in an increased risk of contracting rabies infection.
It took Cadila 12 years to develop ThRabis(the world’s first three-dose vaccine against rabies), ensure its safety and efficacy through clinical trials, and get approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
The first phase of the vaccine launch would cover 11 Indian states, and as part of the awareness campaign, Cadila’s representatives will approach 6000 doctors in three states.
Reference: Medical Dialogues