Researchers have identified a fully human monoclonal antibody that prevents the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) virus from infecting cultured cells. The discovery, detailed in the journal Nature Communications, is an initial step towards developing a fully human antibody to treat or prevent the respiratory disease Covid-19 caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
The Covid-19 pandemic has spread rapidly across the globe infecting more than 3.3 million people worldwide and killing more than 235,000 people so far. This research from Utrecht University, Erasmus Medical Center and Harbour BioMed (HBM) builds on the work they have done in the past on antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV that emerged in 2002/2003.
“Using this collection of SARS-CoV antibodies, we identified an antibody that also neutralises infection of SARS-CoV-2 in cultured cells,” said study co-lead author Berend-Jan Bosch, Associate Professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
“Such a neutralising antibody has the potential to alter the course of infection in the infected host, support virus clearance or protect an uninfected individual that is exposed to the virus,” Bosch added. The researchers noted that the antibody binds to a domain that is conserved in both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, explaining its ability to neutralize both viruses.
