A world first for a Lyon-based company: France will market the first antidote against ricin, one of the main biological threats and the most powerful known poison in plants. Fabentech, A French biopharmaceutical company specializing in medical countermeasures against biological threats has just announced that it has obtained Marketing Authorization (MA) for Ricimed, the first treatment for ricin poisoning. This milestone was welcomed by the Ministers of the Armed Forces and Health in a joint statement, the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) having long supported the work of the biotech.
For years, several research teams around the world have been trying to develop a shield against this easy-to-produce poison which presents a proven and feared bioterrorist risk, as evidenced by two foiled attack attempts in Germany in 2018 and 2023. It was ultimately this Lyon-based company specializing in the development and production of emergency treatments used to combat the risks of bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases that was the fastest and obtained marketing authorization for its antidote.
A toxin 6000 times more powerful than cyanide
With ricin, it's important to know that it all starts with a plant, a euphorbia. (Ricinus communis) cultivated industrially for its oil, a raw material for the production of lubricants, paints, varnishes, plastics, cosmetics and synthetic fibers, also used as a laxative in pharmacies.
Its seeds contain the infamous toxin, 6,000 times more potent than cyanide and 12,000 times more powerful than rattlesnake venom. And that's the simplicity of its extraction suggests a malicious intent. As a reminder, the most famous of his victims is undoubtedly the Bulgarian dissident, Georgi Markov, who was pricked in the thigh in a crowd in London with the tip of an umbrella, in the famous case known as the "Bulgarian umbrella".
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Molecular model of ricin, a toxic protein. Credits: Photo by NSP / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY VIA AFP
But this exceptional case of contamination by injection, the first signs of poisoning of which are described as appearing in the first hours, is not the most feared. Faced with the toxin, the main fear is that of contamination by inhalation through a gas in the context of a terrorist attack. Because while the lethal dose in humans is 1 mg/kg if ingested, significantly less is needed, only 1 to 3 μg/kg, via inhalation. Moreover, in this case, the symptoms (nausea, vomiting, breathing difficulties…) are delayed and only appear after several days.
To be administered within six hours of poisoning
Until now, treatments for ricin poisoning were not actually specific and addressed the symptoms caused by the poisoning but not the toxin itself. “ In addition to supportive care, in severe situations requiring immediate administration, Ricimed represents a new approach to managing acute ricin poisoning.Fabentech specifies in its press release that this is a polyclonal antibody-based therapy to be administered within six hours of poisoning.
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According to the company's press release, the first export orders to European countries are already underway. But the research is not yet complete. A Franco-German team, in conjunction with the CEA, has just published a work This research has allowed the characterization of 17 monoclonal antibody candidates, which, according to the study, could potentially provide more effective and reproducible neutralization than polyclonal antibodies. Further investigation is needed.
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