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A team of scientists discovered an antibody that prevents the new corona virus from infecting human cells in a ground-breaking study that could lead to the development of new drugs.
Based on existing research on the SARS coronavirus, scientists at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Erasmus Medical Center and Harbor BioMed (HBM) have identified a potential method of neutralizing COVID-19.
That is, they discovered that an antibody that prevents the SARS virus from entering human cells can also block the new coronavirus.
Their research was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Photo: Profimedia
They tested a collection of antibodies on cultured human cells and found one that binds to a part of the virus found in both SARS and SARS-CoV-2.
This finding could offer a first step towards the development of a complete antibody drug to treat or prevent the development of COVID-19 disease.
So far, 3.5 million people worldwide have become sick with COVID-19 disease, and almost 250,000 have died.
The neutralizing antibody has the potential to stop the flow of infection in an infected person, support the cleaning of the virus, or protect an uninfected person who is exposed to that virus, explains Dr. Berend Jan Bosch, co-author of the aforementioned research.
The antibody used in this study is completely human, allowing drug development to continue rapidly and reducing possible side effects associated with immunity, says Dr. Frank Grosveld, one of the study’s co-authors.
Photo: Serbia today
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