By Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
An antibody therapy that appears to neutralize all known SARS-CoV-2 strains, and other coronaviruses, was developed with a little help from structural biologist Jay Nix.
Lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines are allowing us to feel optimistic again, after more than a year of anxiety and tragedy. But vaccines are only one side of the coin – we also need treatments that can prevent severe disease after someone has been infected. In the past year, there has been significant progress in developing effective antibody-based therapies, and three drugs are currently available through emergency use authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration.
Sotrovimab, the newest antibody therapy, was developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology after a large collaborative study by scientists from across the nation discovered a natural antibody (in the blood of a SARS survivor, back in 2003) that has remarkable breadth and efficacy.
Experiments showed that this antibody, called S309, neutralizes all known SARS-CoV-2 strains – including newly emerged mutants that can now “escape” from previous antibody therapies – as well as the closely related original SARS-CoV virus.
Read full: SciTechDaily
Well, this would be amazing:https://t.co/LrkBi9H9rn
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) August 30, 2021
"Sotrovimab, the newest antibody therapy developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechn [from] the blood of a SARS survivor back in 2003 neutralizes all known SARS-CoV-2 strains, including newly emerged mutants"
