Abstract
An international team of researchers have identified a fully human monoclonal antibody that prevents SARS-CoV-2 from infecting cultured cells. The antibody, which also neutralizes the related SARSCoV coronavirus, discovered by scientists from Utrecht University, Erasmus Medical Center, and Harbour BioMed (HBM), represents an initial step towards developing a fully human antibody to treat or prevent COVID-19 and also potentially future diseases caused by viruses from the same coronavirus subgroup.
“This discovery provides a strong foundation for additional research to characterize this antibody and begin development as a potential COVID-19 treatment,” said Frank Grosveld, Ph.D., co-lead author on the study, academy professor of cell biology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, and founding CSO at Harbour BioMed. “The antibody used in this work is ‘fully human,' allowing development to proceed more rapidly and reducing the potential for immune-related side effects.”
CHRISTOPH BURGSTEDT/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARYr / Getty Images
For their new research, Grosveld and colleagues built on work that the groups had carried out on antibodies targeting SARS-CoV. “Using this collection of SARSCoV antibodies, we identified an antibody that also neutralizes infection of SARSCoV-2 in cultured cells,” said co-lead author Berend-Jan Bosch, associate professor, research leader at Utrecht University.