Scientists in the UK have just hired the world’s first partners to be part of a new anti-antibody study.
If the treatment is effective, it may protect those who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 from developing COVID-19.
“We know that this antibody mixture can neutralize the virus,” explained Catherine Houlihan, a specialist at University College Hospitals London University (UCLH).
“So we hope to discover that giving this treatment by injection can lead to immediate protection against the development of COVID-19 in people who have been exposed – when it’s too late to offer vaccinations. “
This may not be the first antibody treatment for COVID-19 you have heard of. U.S. President Donald Trump’s antibodies received monoclonal antibodies when he came down with the disease, and in the U.S. two different antibody treatments – casirivimab and imdevimab – received emergency clearance back in November.
However, these antibody therapies are given to patients with mild or moderate COVID-19, who are at risk of progressing to a severe form of the disease.
“In a clinical trial of patients with COVID-19, casirivimab and imdevimab, administered together, were reduced to reduced COVID-19-related hospitalization or emergency room visits in high-risk patients. for disease progression within 28 days after treatment compared to placebo, “the FDA explained in a press release when the drugs were approved.
This new antibody therapy, called AZD7442 and developed by UCLH and AstraZeneca, is slightly different.
AZD7442 is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies AZD8895 and AZD1061, both of which target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain.
“By targeting this segment of the virus’s spike protein, antibodies can inhibit the virus’s binding to human cells, and thus, it is expected to prevent infection,” the team wrote on ClinicalTrials.gov USA website.
“Amino acid substitutes have been incorporated into the antibodies to extend their half-life, which should extend the potential prophylactic benefit, and reduce the effect of Fc effect to reduce the potential risk of increased antibody-dependent disease. “
Antibodies are small Y-shaped proteins that lock on a specific part – called an antigen – of a virus, bacterium or other pathogen, and either ‘tag’ to attack it with the the immune system, or directly prevents the pathogen from invading our cells.
Normal antibodies are made by your body after an infection, while monoclonal antibodies are turned off in a laboratory and can be given to an already infected person, to give a hand to the -defensive system in combat.
The researchers hope that AZD7442 – which is just beginning the Storm Chaser study (the name for its phase 3 test) – protects those who have been exposed to the virus but who do not. symptoms still. Effectively, they are trying to stop COVID-19 from happening in the first place.
“If you are dealing with an outbreak in settings such as care homes, or if you have patients who are particularly at risk of developing severe COVID, such as the elderly, that could save a lot of lives,” University East Anglia was told by infectious disease expert Paul Hunter The Keeper.
“If you live with your great-grandmother and you or someone else in the house is getting a disease, you could give her this to protect her.”
But they also hope it could be effective in the long term, over a period of 6-12 months, meaning that people who do not get the vaccine for medical reasons have an alternative to keeping themselves safe from the disease.
The researchers are looking at how this might work for people with immune systems in a second test called PROVENT.
“We employ people who are older or in long-term care, and who have illnesses such as cancer and HIV that can affect their immune system’s ability to respond to vaccines, “UCLH ‘s infectious diseases consultant Nicky Longley said The Keeper.
“We want to reassure anyone who doesn’t have a vaccine that we can offer an equally protective alternative.”
We look forward to seeing where this continues.