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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found an antibody that counteracts covid-19.
In the study, carried out in animals, isolated a very small biological molecule that “completely and specifically neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 virus (scientific term for the new coronavirus) “.
The finding made possible the development of Ab8, a possible drug with potential for therapeutic use against the virus. This was created from an antibody ten times smaller than a full-size antibody.
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At the moment, Ab8 has been used successfully in mice and hamsters, since its size “increases the potential for diffusion in tissues to better neutralize the virus.”
Also, the use of small rodents facilitates the administration of the drug by alternative routes, such as inhalation.
The investigation
John Mellors, a co-author of the study and head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh, said they have great hope in the work they are doing.
“Larger antibodies have worked against other infectious diseases and have been well tolerated, giving us hope that could be an effective treatment for covid-19 patients and for the protection of those who have never had the infection and are not immune“.
In the same way, the scientists detail that the small antibody was found in a ‘fishing’ in a group of more than 100,000 million potential antibodies and explained that in the procedure the “SARS-CoV-2 peak protein was used as bait” .
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Ab8 has not yet started human testing.
Finding an innovative way to deliver Ab8 is essential for researchers, as they consider it important to take advantage of the size of the antibody.
Ab8 has been used successfully in mice and hamsters, since the size of these animals increases the potential for diffusion in the tissues to better neutralize the virus
The drug has already been evaluated by scientists from different universities, such as North Carolina, Texas, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, in Canada.
Similarly, Abound Bio, a company focused on the development of drugs and new antibody-based therapies, has licensed Ab8 for worldwide development.
(Also read: Argentine teacher dies from covid-19 while teaching at Zoom).
“The covid-19 pandemic is a global challenge facing humanity, but biomedical science and human ingenuity are likely to surpass it,” said Mellors, adding that “eWe hope that the antibodies we have discovered will contribute to that triumph“.
Antibody studies were used successfully for the treatment of SARS in 2003.
In parallel, the University of Pittsburgh also has a candidate vaccine against covid-19, and like Ab8 it would not be administered intravenously, since PittCoVacc, the name of the vaccine, would be applied through a pointed patch the size of a an adhesive band or a cure.
Dimiter Dimitrov, lead author of the research and director of the Pitt Center for Antibody Therapeutics, He had already studied in 2003 the use of neutralizing antibodies to treat SARS, another class of coronavirus.
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Also, during his career he has discovered antibodies against other infectious diseases such as the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), dengue, hendra, and nipah.
As of September 15, more than 29 million coronavirus infections were registered around the world. The death toll exceeds 900,000.
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