The shift is toward blood plasma. On March 4, 2020, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company said it had started developing TAK-888, a treatment built from the antibodies of people who have recovered from COVID-19. The company planned to share the news with members of the United States Congress the same day.
TAK-888 is an anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal hyperimmune globulin, or H-IG, aimed at high-risk people infected with the virus. The idea is simple. Antibodies are concentrated from plasma collected from recovered patients and given to a new patient, which may help that person’s immune system respond and improve the chance of recovery.
Why plasma, and why Takeda
Hyperimmune globulins have previously been shown to work against severe acute viral respiratory infections, Takeda said, and may be an option for COVID-19. The company has more than 75 years of experience developing plasma-derived products.
“Plasma-derived therapies are critical, life-saving medicines that thousands of people with rare and complex diseases rely on every day around the world,” said Dr. Chris Morabito, head of research and development for Takeda’s Plasma-Derived Therapies Business Unit. He added that the company’s “heritage, combined with our scale, expertise and capabilities” put it in a strong position to pursue such treatments.
Dr. Rajeev Venkayya, president of the Vaccine Business Unit and co-lead of the COVID-19 response team, framed it as a company-wide effort. “We have identified relevant assets and capabilities across the company and are hopeful that we can expand the treatment options for patients with COVID-19 and the providers caring for them,” he said.
The donor problem
Everything starts with donors. The therapy needs source plasma from people who have recovered from the disease, or from people vaccinated once a vaccine exists. Takeda said it was in talks with several national health and regulatory agencies and health care partners in the US, Asia and Europe to get access to them.
Because that plasma is unlikely to come from current plasma donors, Takeda planned to make TAK-888 at first in a segregated area of its manufacturing facility in Georgia. It said the work should not hurt its ability to produce its other plasma-derived medicines.
A second track
Takeda is also checking whether some of its marketed and pipeline products could treat COVID-19. That work is at an early stage but has high priority inside the company, and an internal group of experts in public health, vaccines, plasma-derived therapies and R&D is looking for further openings.
The stakes were already clear. COVID-19 had caused more than 3,000 deaths globally since its discovery, and no vaccine or therapy had been approved to prevent or treat it.
Sources
- Takeda to Develop Plasma-Derived Therapy for COVID-19 Treatment | BioPharm International
- Takeda Initiates Development of a Plasma-Derived Therapy for COVID-19
- New plasma-derived therapy for Covid-19 on the horizon: Takeda
