Current Context : Nipah monoclonal antibody MBP1F5 trials may begin in India in 2025.

ABOUT NIPAH VIRUS :

• It is a zoonotic virus.
• it is transmitted from animals to humans.
• It first broke out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999.
• It was first appeared in domestic pigs.
• There is no approved vaccine against the Nipah virus anywhere in the world.
• Mortality rate : 40% to 75%

ABOUT MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES:

• Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-produced molecules engineered to serve as substitute antibodies that can restore, enhance, modify or mimic the immune system’s attack on cells that aren’t wanted, such as cancer cells.
• Antibodies are parts of body’s immune system which seeks out antigens (foreign materials) and destroy them.

Significance : Diagnostics (e.g., ELISA),  Treating diseases (cancer, infections, autoimmune disorders, etc.) , Analyzing cell types in blood/tissue (with the use of fluorescent tags).