The Vanderbilt-AstraZeneca team is far from the only group trying to identify or engineer monoclonals against SARS-CoV-2. Unlike the many repurposed drugs now being tested in COVID-19 patients, including the modestly effective remdesivir, the immune proteins specifically target this virus. Whereas some groups hope to sieve a neutralizing antibody (a \u201cneut\u201d) from the blood of a survivor like Dr. X, others are trying to produce a neut in mice by injecting them with the spike protein. Still others aim to re-engineer an existing antibody or even create one directly from DNA sequences.<\/p>\n
Many researchers are optimistic that antibodies will, relatively quickly, prove their worth as a preventive or remedy that buys the world time until a vaccine arrives\u2014if it does. \u201cWe\u2019ve got at least 50\u2014and probably more we don\u2019t know about\u2014companies and academic labs that are all racing horses,\u201d says immunologist Erica Ollmann Saphire of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, who leads an effort to coordinate and evaluate these candidates. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which developed a cocktail of three monoclonal antibodies that worked against the Ebola virus\u2014a notoriously difficult disease to treat\u2014may be out of the gates first with a candidate monoclonal drug entering clinical trials as soon as next month.<\/p>\n
Saphire says many questions remain. \u201cWe need a sense of the landscape: What are the most effective antibodies against this virus? If we need a cocktail of two, what is the most effective combination?\u201d she asks. \u201cAnd you might want a very different kind of antibody to prevent infection versus treating an established one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Monoclonal antibodies could potentially be used both for treatment and prevention of #COVID<\/a>. @WHO<\/a> happy to work with developers on facilitating trials & mechanisms for affordable access. \u2014 Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) May 6, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
\nThe race is on for antibodies that stop the new coronavirus https:\/\/t.co\/2vNmdFVw3l<\/a><\/p>\n