Dose-dependent antiviral activity of released-active form of antibodies to interferon-gamma against influenza A/California/07/09(H1N1) in murine model

Abstract

The assessment of dose-response is an essential part of drug development in terms of the determination of a drug's effective dose, finding the safety endpoint, estimation of the pharmacokinetic profile, and even validation of drug activity, especially for therapeutic agents with a principally novel mechanism of action. Drugs based on released-active forms of antibodies are a good example of such a target. In this study, the efficacy of the antiviral drug Anaferon for children (released-active form of antibodies to interferon-gamma) was tested in a dose-dependent manner (at doses of 0.13, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 ml/mouse/day) in a murine model of acute pneumonia induced by influenza virus pandemic strain A/California/07/09 (H1N1). Administration of the drug at the two highest doses led to: a reduction in the virus infectious titer in lung tissue up to 4.2 lgEID50/20 mg of tissue; infected animals' life prolongation up to 6.7 days; an increase in the survival rate of up to 40% and a decrease in morphological signs of inflammation when compared to the control animals. In this study, the dose-response effect of Anaferon for Children was demonstrated on mice for the first time. This finding is especially important for drugs with a principally novel mechanism of action like drugs based on released-active forms of antibodies. J. Med. Virol. 89:759-766, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Drug discovery today: no molecules required

“…Release-active ‘drugs’ (RADs)1–24 are manufactured by a single Russian company called OOO ‘NPF ‘Materia Medica Holding’ (MMH) 25 26. According to the original patent by its founder and CEO Epstein et al ,27 these preparations consist of ‘ activated forms of ultra-low doses of antibodies conventionally designated as potentiated (dynamised) antibodies (by analogy with the terminology used in homeopathic literature) for treatment of various pathological syndromes ’.…”

“…Notably, articles about RADs usually appear not in journals of complementary medicine, but in apparently respectable journals, published by PLOS, Springer, Elsevier and so on. Due to the large amount of such papers (we found >100 only in English),1–24 we were unable to investigate all of them, but the articles that we did analyse contained misleading descriptions of active substance concentrations, severe flaws in study design and methodology, as well as concealed conflict of interests (COI). In the designated section, authors did not mention that MMH manufactures and sells RADs and holds the corresponding patents.…”

“…During the last fifteen years, numerous peer-reviewed journals published articles about the incredible properties of so-called release-active “drugs” (RADs) 1–24. It is claimed that these “drugs” are effective against tick-borne encephalitis, influenza, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, meningococcal meningitis, herpes, HIV, and other viral and bacterial infections, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, sleep disorders, obesity, chronic inflammatory joint diseases, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, chronic cerebral ischemia, benign prostatic hypertrophy, alcoholism, allergies, and many other health problems 18 25.…”

Randomized Controlled Parallel-Design Clinical Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Intranasal Interferon gamma in Treatment of Influenza-Like Infections

“…The mechanism of its antiviral action has been discovered, and antiviral properties have been shown in a range of preclinical and clinical studies. (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) Influenza can be a very dangerous disease; it can lead to life-threating complications and death, especially in patients of risk groups. (7) The disease is caused by influenza viruses (the basic types are A, B, and C).…”

Homeopathy in disguise. Comment on Don et al.: Dose‐dependent antiviral activity of released‐active form of antibodies to interferon‐gamma against influenza A/California/07/09(H1N1) in murine model

“…The study «Dose‐dependent antiviral activity of released‐active form of antibodies to interferon‐gamma against influenza A/California/07/09H1N1 in murine model» recently published in Journal of Medical Virology raises a number of concerns. We discuss these concerns in detail.…”