The plasma donations were collected by the blood bank at Hadassah and then transferred, along with doses collected by Magen David Adom, to the company Kamada, where appropriate antibodies were produced for the experimental treatment.
Kamada used the plasma to produce what it calls its “anti-SARS-CoV-2 plasma-derived immunoglobulin (IgG) product.”
Passive immunization is when you get antibodies that are formed by another patient who got the disease and developed it. An active vaccine, by contrast, is when you inject a dead or weakened version of an actual virus that truncates your immune system to think you have the disease, and your immune system makes antibodies to protect you.
Jerusalem, where Hadassah is located, has had the highest number of sick patients in the country. To date, according to the Ministry of Public Health, 14,958 people have been infected in the Holy City.
Rotstein said the vaccine, which could also be called a medicine, is targeted at COVID-19 patients whose condition is getting worse and a booster is needed to fight the disease. However, it can also be used prophylactically in cases where a high-risk patient develops coronavirus and the hospital wants to stop the progression of the disease.
“It is evident that the Hadassah team is very satisfied with the clinical research,” said Dr. Asa Kessler, a physician in the hospital’s coronavirus unit. He said the plasma is being distributed to COVID-19 patients who develop pneumonia and “for now we are very encouraged.”
So far, Hadassah has distributed the plasma through the program of merciful use. It is not the only hospital testing Kamada’s treatment. In total, about a dozen patients receive the treatment.
In parallel, Kamada aims to further explore the potential of its IgG product to prevent COVID-19 disease in healthy subjects at risk, in a separate study, its website said.
Rotstein said these preliminary results “should increase hope in Israel and around the world.”
