CSIR patents revolutionary clot buster for treatment of strokes
14 Aug 2018
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The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed and patented a new clot buster, PEGylated Streptokinase that is all set to revolutionize the treatment of ischemic strokes.
The novel biological entity has been developed by Dr Girish Sahni, DG, CSIR and secretary, DSIR and his team of inventors at CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH), Chandigarh.
CSIR-IMTECH and Epygen Biotech Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, have entered into an agreement under which the latter will develop dosages of PEGylated Streptokinase for treatment of Ischemic stroke.
Ischemic stroke is a condition caused by a dysfunction in the supply of blood to the brain due to emboli, thrombus or atherosclerosis occurring in cerebral arteries.
According to the American Stroke Association (ASA), brain strokes are the second leading cause of death in the world with a staggering 15 million people effected causing 11 million people either die or become permanently disabled. Surprisingly, the prevalence of stroke is much higher in India than the West and about 87 per cent of all strokes are ischemic strokes.
Epygen is the first company in India with exclusive licence of this novel biological entity (NBE) thrombolytic protein for ischemic stroke. Epygen Biotech Pvt Ltd is a biopharmaceutical company, engaged in research and manufacture of therapeutic proteins for oncology, cardiovascular and immune disorders.
“PEGylated Streptokinase, the novel recombinant protein thrombolytic molecule has been precisely engineered through decades of research for enhanced proteolytic stability and extended plasma half-life, fibrin-specificity and associated clot specificity, with reduced immuno-reactivity which would be significant attributes with unmistakable clinical advantages such as reduced probability of hemorrhage over current treatment regimens of thrombolytic drugs for acute stroke.
“These are huge advantages with a potential to transform the way ischemic stroke, deep-vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and acute myocardial infarction are treated around the globe, especially in the developing world,” says a CSIR release.
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