Researchers in U.S. discover antibodies that neutralize coronavirus

AKIPRESS.COM - Researchers at Columbia University have isolated antibodies from several COVID-19 patients that are among the most potent in neutralizing coronavirus, MedicalXpress reports.
These neutralizing antibodies produced by COVID-19 patients could be used to treat other patients or even prevent infection in people exposed to the virus. The development and approval of antibodies for use as a treatment usually takes less time than conventional drugs.
"We now have a collection of antibodies that's more potent and diverse compared to other antibodies that have been found so far, and they are ready to be developed into treatments," says David Ho, MD, professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, who directed the work.
Ho's team found that although many patients produce significant quantities of antibodies, the quality of those antibodies varies. In the patients they studied, those with severe disease requiring mechanical ventilation produced the most potently neutralizing antibodies.
The researchers have confirmed that their purified, strongly neutralizing antibodies provide significant protection from coronavirus infection in hamsters, and they are planning further studies in other animals and people.
These antibodies could be produced in large quantities by pharmaceutical companies to treat patients, especially early in the course of infection, and to prevent infection, particularly in the elderly.