Kamada and its Italian partner Kedrion Biopharma will develop a new treatment to battle COVID-19 with the help of plasma of convalescent patients. The therapy is already being used in Israel.
According to Kamada's CEO Amir London, who spoke with Milan-based Le Fonti TV, discussions with various health authorities and regulators around the are likely to soon help make available the new therapy in other countries.
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"We start with raw material which is human plasma collected by Kedrion in the United States," London explained. "Our technology allows us to purify the plasma into specific proteins and antibodies called immunoglobulins and this is used for all kinds of rare diseases. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started we have been very focused in working together with Kedrion Biopharma on developing a very innovative approach to COVID by using convalescent plasma, which is the plasma from recovered patients, in order to purify specific antibodies against COVID for the therapeutic treatment of hospital patients."
Kamada has been working with Israel's health ministry in recent months and now offers the therapy in Israel to treat COVID-19 patients, the company said in a statement.
Asked by Alessia Liparoti of Le Fonti TV what is the secret to Israel's success in vaccinating its population, Mr. London explained: "Israel was among the first to sign agreements, primarily with Pfizer, for the supply of vaccines. We were among the first countries to get a significant supply. Israel has a hybrid health system that combines national coverage for all patients with strong HMOs and health funds. Israel also has strong logistical abilities and being a relatively small country in size allows us to reach the entire population within hours. Every Israeli can get to a medical center within minutes. So, the logistic supply chain has been very effective, and this is helping us to reopen the economy."
Regarding its collaboration with Kedrion, the Israeli executive said: "Our relationship with Kedrion goes many years back and we are very happy with the relationship. We have been working in the US market on other treatments, including one against rabies. When COVID started last year, we decided to expand that relationship to COVID products, and we are developing the therapy together. Kamada is responsible for the manufacturing and the clinical development while Kedrion is working on collecting the plasma from recovered patients in the United States and on supporting the development work. We are very happy with this successful cooperation, and in terms of the future we are in discussion with multiple health authorities and regulators around the world on making it available also in other countries."
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