the firm has lost its patent over a drug, used to treat
Hepatitis C, after the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) has revoked the
patent?
[A]Cadila Healthcare
[B]Aventis Pharma
[C]F. Hoffmann-La Roche
[D]Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
F. Hoffmann-La Roche
In a move that could open the door to less expensive Hepatitis C drugs, the
Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) has revoked the patent on Roche’s
pegylated interferon alfa-2a.Roche markets the drug, used to treat Hepatitis C,
under the brand name Pegasys, and it costs a patient over Rs 3 lakh for a six-month
course.In a landmark order, the IPAB set aside Roche’s patent on Pegasys, stating
that the “invention is held to be obvious". A product needs to have an inventive step,
among other features, to get a patent, which in turn gives it market exclusivity for 20
years. Setting aside the patent on Pegasys would allow other drug companies to
make similar versions of the drug, bringing relief to over 12 million Hepatitis C
patients in the country.Pegasys was the first medicine to receive a product patent in
2006, after the Indian Patents Act was amended in 2005. The post-grant opposition
was filed by Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust, represented by Lawyers Collective. The
case is significant, being the country’s first post-grant opposition. Besides nongovernmental
organisation Sankalp, Wockhardt too had filed a post-grant opposition,
but did not go through with an appeal
New strains of HIV-1 rapidly evolving in India
November 13th, 2012
Scientists at the HIV-AIDS laboratory in Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have found that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type I (HIV-1) has been undergoing a process of evolution in India over the past decade and possibly in other parts of the world.
- The study — with 165 samples — conducted from 2010 to 2011 by a group of scientists led by Professor Ranga Uday Kumar of the Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit of the centre has been published in the November 7th issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
- Scientists found the emergence and expansion of three to five new strains of HIV-1 rapidly replacing the standard viral strain.
- The new viral strains appear to contain a stronger viral promoter. In the laboratory experiments, the new HIV strains make more daughter viruses [multiplied] as compared to the standard viral strains.
- A similar process of viral evolution has also been observed in other countries such as South Africa, China and southern Brazil. All these countries have the same family of HIV-1 as India.
- People infected with the new HIV strains seem to contain more of the virus in their blood.
Virus is a Latin word whose literal meaning is poison. A virus is not a living thing in first instance but they posses some properties of the both. It is nor a cell nor able to reproduce independently.Viruses were discovered by the Russian scientist Dimitri lvanovsky in 1892 during the investigation of plant
disease called tobacco mosaic. So, theTMV or Tobacco Mosaic Virus was the first Virus that was discovered. A Virus is an extreme micro, parasitic noncellular nucleoprotein particle which can persist only if it inside any living organism. This means that all viruses are parasites.Viruses naturally grow and reproduce in the living cells of more complex organisms, where they may cause diseases. The study of the viruses is called virology. Viruses undergo reproductive activities through multiplication.In plants , the viruses transmit generally through phloem, while in the animals through the blood / fluid of the body. Viruses have DNA and RNA but not both together and these are composed from nucleoproteins. Virus affects only a certain species and exhibits the properties of living and non-living both, as shown in the following table:
Living properties Non-living properties
The presence of DNA or RNA (but never both) The absence of cell.
Structural diversity The lack of protoplasm.
Geneticity and parasitic properties No any reproduction and growth outside the living cell.
Sensitivity and evolution Stored in the form of crystal outside the living cell.
Capable of spreading the disease The lack of metabolic activities like nutrition, digestion etc.
Structure
There are three main constituents or components of the structure of the virus-protein capsid, nucleic acid and a thick outer layer. Around a virus there is a closed frame of protein and which acts as genetic carrier. Generally, nucleic acid RNA is present in the plant virus, while in the animal virus nucleic acid DNA is present. On the basis of parasitic nature there are three types of virus-
Plant virus: This is nucleic acid of RNA. Examples are Tobacco Mosaic Virus and YMV (Yellow Mosaic Virus).
Animal virus : The animal Viruses contain either RNA or DNA and are usually spherical in shape. Examples are influenza, mumps etc.
Bacteriophage: The viruses that are parasites on a bacterial cell are called Bacteriophage.
Please note that in Bacteriophage ONLY DNA is present and they can destroy NOT ONLY Bacteria BUT also other viruses.
Industrial and Scientific Applications of Viruses
Since Viruses contain the characteristics of both living and non-living organisms, they are utilized in the field of Biotechnology research. Bacteriophage can be used in water preservation as it can destroy the bacteria and keep water fresh. Here are some other applications of Viruses:Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Molecular genetics, such as DNA replication, transcription, RNA processing, translation, protein transport, and immunology. Virotherapy uses viruses as vectors to treat
various diseases, as they can specifically target cells and DNA. It shows promising use in the treatment of cancer and in gene therapy.The viruses represent largest reservoirs of unexplored genetic diversity on Earth. They can be used as alternative to the antibiotics because of the high level of antibiotic resistance now found in some pathogenic bacteria.
Viruses contain protein and this property can be used in production of various proteins such as vaccine antigens and antibodies.In nanotechnology, viruses can be regarded as organic nanoparticles. Because of their size, shape, and well-defined chemical structures, viruses have been used as templates for organizing materials on the nanoscale. It’s relatively easy to synthesize a new Virus. First synthetic virus was created in 2002, which is actually a DNA genome (in case of a DNA virus), or a cDNA copy of its genome (in case of RNA viruses). Ability to synthesize viruses has far-reaching consequences, since viruses can no longer be regarded as extinct; as long as the information of their genome sequence is known and permissive cells are available. Currently, the full-length genome sequences of 2408 different viruses (including smallpox) are publicly available at an online database. Viruses can cause devastating epidemics in human societies. They can be weaponised for biological warfare.
Virus and Aquatic Ecosystem
A teaspoon of seawater contains about one million of Viruses, making them the most abundant biological entity in aquatic environments. They are useful in the regulation of saltwater and freshwater ecosystems. The
Bacteriophage, which is harmless to plants and animals, play the most important role here. They infect and destroy the bacteria in aquatic microbial communities, comprising the most important mechanism of recycling carbon in the marine environment. However, the organic molecules released from the bacterial cells by the viruses stimulate fresh bacterial and algal growth. Viruses are useful for the rapid destruction of
harmful algal blooms that arises generally from the Blue Green algae and often kills other marine life. Viruses INCREASE the amount of Photosynthesis in Oceans and are responsible for reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by approximately 3 giga tonnes of carbon per year.
Viral Diseases
Plant Diseases
The mosaic diseases of plants such as Tobacco, Papaya, Banana, Lady Finger etc. are caused by Viruses. In Tomato, the Twisted leaf disease, In lemon, the yellowing of veins, the streak pattern of Almond and Twisted apex of Beet Root are all caused by Viruses. The Tobacco Mosaic Virus has become a popular tool for scientific research. The main reason is that it is available in large quantities and it does not infect animals. After growing a few infected tobacco plants in a greenhouse and a few simple laboratory procedures, a scientist can easily produce several grams of virus. As a result of
this, TMV can be treated almost as an organic chemical, rather than an infective agent. Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) are frequently used in plant molecular biology. Of special interest is the CaMV 35S promoter, which is a very strong promoter most frequently, used in plant transformations.
Animal Diseases
Some Animal Viral Diseases
Some Animal Viral DiseasesDiseases
Animals
Viruses
Herpes Cow Herpes virus
Blue tongue Disease Cow Blue tongue virus
Small pox Cow Variola
vaccinia
Small pox Buffalo Poxverdi orthopox
Rabies Domestic
animals dog Rabdovergi vasculo virus stereit virus
Mouth and gland infection Cow and buffalo Picornaverdi aphtho virus
Renderpest disease. Cow and buffalo Paramixoverdi morbeli virus
Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) causes acute systemic vesicular disease that affects cattle worldwide,foot-and-mouth disease. FMDV is a highly variable and transmissible virus. It’s an RNA Virus.
Pestiviruses causes diseases in animals such as Classical swine fever (CSF) and Bovine viral diarrhea / Mucosal disease (BVD/MD).
Arteriviruses are small, enveloped, animal viruses that infect animals such as Horses, Rabbits, Mice etc.
Influenza is caused by RNA viruses and affects birds and mammals. Wild aquatic birds are the natural hosts for a large variety of influenza A viruses. Occasionally viruses are transmitted from this reservoir to other species and may then cause devastating outbreaks in domestic poultry or give rise to human influenza pandemics.
Bluetongue virus (BTV) causes serious disease in livestock (sheep, goat, cattle). BTV is a complex non-enveloped virus with seven structural proteins and a RNA genome consisting of 10 double-stranded (ds) RNA segments ofdifferent sizes.
Porcine Circoviruses (PCV) are the smallest viruses replicating autonomously in eukaryotic cells. They cause Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS), a new emerging and multifactorial disease in swine.
Herpesviruses are highly successful pathogens infecting animals and man.
General Discussion about Various Viral Diseases in animals and Humans
Foot and Mouth Disease
Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease also known as Aphtae epizooticae , affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs, antelope, deer, and bison. The virus causes a high fever for two or three days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet that may rupture and cause lameness. This disease is highly infectious and can spread quickly. The control methods include the vaccination, strict monitoring, trade restrictions and quarantines, and elimination of millions of animals. Epidemics of FMD have resulted in the slaughter of millions of animals, despite this being a frequently nonfatal disease for adult animals (2-5% mortality), though young animals can have a high
mortality. Please note that not all the animal species affected by this virus spread it, for example, elephant has been shown to be contracted with this virus, but not spreading it to other elephants. In mid of 20th century, the disease was widely distributed throughout the world. In 1996, endemic areas included Asia, Africa, and parts of South America; as of August 2007, Chile is disease free, and Uruguay and Argentina have not had an outbreak since 2001. North America and Australia have been free of FMD for many years. New Zealand has never had a case of foot and- mouth disease. Most European countries have been recognized as disease free, and countries belonging to the European Union have stopped FMD vaccination, though there was a serious outbreak of FMD in Britain in 2001.
FMD and Humans
Humans can be infected with foot-and-mouth
disease through contact with infected animals,
but this is extremely rare. Some cases were
caused by laboratory accidents. Because the
virus that causes FMD is sensitive to stomach
acid, it cannot spread to humans via
consumption of infected meat, except in the
mouth before the meat is swallowed.
Dengue
Dengue is a mosquito-borne seasonal viral infection caused by any of four closely related viruses (DENV 1-4). The virus is transmitted by a bite of female mosquito of any of two species of mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. The mosquito, which typically bites humans in the daylight hours, can be easily recognized because of its peculiar white spotted body and legs.Outbreak of the disease typically occurs in summer season when the mosquito population reaches its peak. It occurs widely in tropical and subtropical areas in Asia, Africa, Central and South America. Unlike malaria, which is a major health concern in rural areas, dengue is equally prevalent in the urban areas too. In fact, it is predominantly reported in
urban and semi-urban areas. WHO estimates that there may be 50 million dengue infections worldwide every year. A severe form of the infection is known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). DHF can be fatal if not detected.
Symptoms of Dengue
After its entry into patient's body, the virus multiplies to reach sufficient numbers to cause the symptoms. This process might take 4-6 days after which the symptoms become visible. The main symptoms of dengue are high fever (103-105 degrees Fahrenheit), severe headache (mostly in the forehead), severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rashes, and mild bleeding from nose or gums. Because of the severe joint pain, dengue is also known as break-bone fever. Typically, younger children and those with their first dengue infection have a milder illness than older children and adults.
DHF is characterized by a fever that lasts for 2 to 7 days, with general signs and symptoms consistent with dengue fever. In addition to these symptoms, if a patient suspected with dengue experiences decrease in platelets or an increase in blood haematocrit, it becomes more certain that the patient is suffering from the infection. Platelets are cells in blood that help to stop bleeding, while haematocrit indicates thickness of blood. The smallest blood vessels become excessively permeable allowing fluid component to escape from blood vessels to organs of the body. This may lead to failure of circulatory system, which might also cause death.
Treatment of Dengue:
Like in most viral diseases, there is no specific cure for dengue. Antibiotics do not help and paracetamol is the drug of choice to bring down fever and joint pain.
Other medicines such as Aspirin and Ibuprofen or any medicine that can decrease platelet count should be avoided since they can increase the risk of bleeding.
As it has no specific medication, most dengue patients can be treated at home.
POLIO
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease. Polio virus is an enterovirus which means that the route of entry of this virus is through the gastrointestinal system. Polio Virus is an RNA virus. Polio is usually spread via the fecal-oral route (i.e., the virus is transmitted from the stool of an infected person to the mouth of another person from contaminated hands or such objects as eating utensils). Some cases may be spread directly via an oral to oral route.
Symptoms of Polio
The virus makes its way into the body of humans through the faecal-oral route and divides within
gastrointestinal cells for about a week, from where it spreads to the tonsils and then widely distributed
throughout the body. It affects the CNS (Central Nervous System) reflected as inflammation (of Spine) and this is called the non-paralytic Polio.
The incubation period for polio is commonly 6–20 days, with a range of 3–35 days. Surprisingly, 95% of al lindividuals infected with polio have no apparent symptoms.
Another 4%–8% of infected individuals have symptoms of a minor, non-specific nature, such as sore throat and fever, nausea, vomiting, and other common symptoms of any viral illness. About 1%–2% of infected individuals develop nonparalytic aseptic (viral) meningitis, with temporary stiffness of the neck, back, and/or legs.
Less than 1% of all polio infections result in the classic “flaccid paralysis,” where the patient is left with permanent weakness or paralysis of legs, arms, or both.
In this case, the Virus spreads along certain nerve fiber pathways, preferentially replicating in and destroying motor neurons within the spinal cord, brain stem, or motor cortex resulting in flaccid paralysis. This has made polio a feared disease for hundreds of years. Of people with paralytic polio, about 2%–5% of children die and up to 15%–30% of adults die.
Cure
There is no “cure” for polio. People infected with polio need supportive therapy, such as bed rest and fluids.Standard precautions should be taken to avoid passing on the virus through any contamination from the
patient’s stool.
Since, there is no cure known for the disease, and so the best strategy is prevention. Immunization is the only way to prevent Polio and it is done at prescribed intervals and en-masse vaccinations.
Polio Eradication Efforts
In 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the goal of global polio eradication. Although the initial target date of 2000 was not met, substantial progress has been made. The efforts of WHO and Rotary International have reduced the number of annual diagnosed cases by 99%; from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988 to a low of 483 cases in 2001, after which it has remained at a level of about 1,000 cases per year (1,606 in 2009).
Unfortunately, rumors about the safety of polio vaccine in 2003, and subsequent refusal of vaccine by many parents in Nigeria, led to an increase in cases and spread of the virus to nearby countries that had previously been polio free.
Many organizations have been working hard toward eradicating polio including WHO, the United NationsbChildren’s Fund (UNICEF), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rotary International, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and many other international and national groups. Strategies include house-to house vaccination and National Immunization Days, where even warring factions have called temporary cease fires to allow children to be vaccinated.
Today, Polio is rare in Western world, but still endemic to South Asia and Nigeria. Polio is one of only two diseases currently the subject of a global eradication program, the other being Guinea worm disease. So far, the only diseases completely eradicated by humankind are smallpox in 1979 and rinderpest (infectious viral disease of cattle) in 2010. In eradication of Polio also, a number of milestones have already been reached, and several regions of the world have been certified polio-free. The Americas were declared polio-free in 1994. In 2000 polio was officially eliminated in 36
Western Pacific countries, including China and Australia. Europe was declared polio-free in 2002. As of 2012, polio remains endemic in only three countries: Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Since January 2011, there were no reported cases of the disease in India, and hence in February 2012, the country was taken off the WHO list of polio endemic countries. If there are no case of polio in India for two more years, it will be declared as a polio-free country.
Polio Vaccines
The first polio vaccine was an inactivated, or killed, vaccine (IPV) developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and licensed in 1955. In 1961, a live attenuated (e.g., weakened) vaccine was developed by Dr. Albert Sabin. This vaccine was given as an oral preparation instead of as a shot.
By 1963, this oral vaccine had been improved to include protection against three strains of polio and was licensed as “trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine” (OPV). OPV was the vaccine of choice for the most countries of the world from 1963. However In some developed countries including US, there was a policy change later on.
In 1988, an enhanced-potency IPV formulation became available and by 1997 had become part of the routine schedule for infants and children, given in a sequential combination with OPV. IPV is also available in combination with other vaccines (e.g., DTaP-HepB-IPV, DTaP-IPV/Hib, or DTaPIPV). Thus, two types of Vaccines are employed today: -
o Inactivated Polio Vaccine or IPV used since 1955 contains the inactivated polio virus. The
vaccine is administered as a shot in the leg or the arm. Common in United States.
o The Oral Polio Vaccine or OPV, employed since 1961, contains a mild form of the live polio
virus and is administered as ‘drops’ orally. Common in India.
SARS IS VIRAL DISEASE
Oral Polio Vaccine and Digestive System
Some viruses are enveloped in a lipid layer that can be destroyed by the lipolytic agents present in the digestive system. The lipid layer cannot withstand the stomach's digestive system as it is sensitive to alcohol, acid and other enzymes in the digestive system. Examples are influenza and HIV viruses. However, there are other types of viruses, which are non enveloped, called naked viruses, like the polio virus, which cannot be destroyed by acid, bile or other proteolytic enzymes present in the
digestive tract. Therefore the polio vaccine that contains attenuated strains of live polio virus, when given orally,cannot be destroyed by the digestive acids and enzymes and survives in the intestinal tract and induces local immunity in the intestinal tract.
OPV and India
In India, OPV is the backbone of Polio Vaccination Programme. The children need to be administered four doses of Polio vaccine during the period from infancy till 5 years of age.
In India, the initiative against polio began in 1978 under the project called, the Expanded Programme on Vaccination (EPV). This programme brought more than 40% of the infants under its cover to avail 3 doses of Oral Polio Vaccine.
Upon success of the first en-masse initiative, this programme was expanded to include many districts in the country.
The Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) Programme commenced in 1995-96 to include all children below age of 3. Please note that ‘PULSE’ stands for Post-Resuscitation and Initial Utility in
Life Saving Efforts. In order to accelerate the pace of polio eradication, the target age group was increased from 1996- 97 to all children under the age of 5 years.
Why United States discontinued OPV?
OPV became controversial in medical circles due to a rare but serious side effect associated with the use of the vaccine - vaccine derived paralytic poliomyelitis and Vaccine associated paralytic poliomyelitis. This culminated in the ban on OPV in United States.Oral polio vaccine (OPV) is its known ability to revert to a form that can achieve neurological infection and cause paralysis. This is known as Vaccine Derived Polio Virus or VDPV. Though VDPV is rare event, but outbreaks of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) have been reported, and tend to occur in areas of low coverage by OPV, presumably because the OPV is itself protective against the relatedoutbreak strain.
In simple words, for a few people (about one in 2.4 million), OPV actually causes polio. Since the risk of getting polio in the United States is now extremely low, experts believe that using oral polio vaccine is no longer viable. It has beenproved that the polio shot (IPV) does not cause polio.
