Researchers identify potent antibody cocktail to treat COVID-19
Publication highlights process for yielding array of human antibodies
that target protein on virus

Date:
June 16, 2020
Source:
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Summary:
Researchers evaluated several human antibodies to determine the
most potent combination to be mixed in a cocktail and used as a
promising anti-viral therapy against the virus that causes COVID-19.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine
(UMSOM) evaluated several human antibodies to determine the most
potent combination to be mixed in a cocktail and used as a promising
anti-viral therapy against the virus that causes COVID-19. Their research, conducted in collaboration with scientists at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals,
was published in the journal Science. The study demonstrates the rapid
process of isolating, testing and mass-producing antibody therapies
against any infectious disease by using both genetically engineered mice
and plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients.


==========================================================================
The antibody cocktail evaluated by UMSOM researchers will be used to
treat COVID-19 patients in a clinical trial that was launched last
week. The study was funded by Regeneron, a biotechnology company based
in Tarrytown, New York.

Antibodies are proteins the immune system naturally makes in response
to foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria. Antibody therapies were
first tried in the late 19th century when researchers used a serum
derived from the blood of infected animals to treat diphtheria.

To produce the so-called monoclonal antibodies for an antibody cocktail to fight COVID-19, the researchers first needed to identify which antibodies
fight the novel coronavirus most effectively.

This involved determining which antibodies could bind most effectively
to the spike protein found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2, the virus
that causes COVID- 19. The Regeneron team evaluated thousands of human antibodies from plasma donations from recovered COVID-19 patients. They
also generated antibodies from mice genetically engineered to produce
human antibodies when infected with the virus.

"The ability of the research team to rapidly derive antibodies using
these two methods enabled us screen their selected antibodies against
live virus to determine which had the strongest anti-viral effects," said
study co-author Matthew Frieman, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology
and Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He has
been studying coronaviruses for the past 16 years and has been carefully studying SARS-CoV-2 in his secure laboratory since February.

Dr. Frieman and his UMSOM colleagues evaluated four of the most potent antibodies for to determine the potential of each one to neutralize
the SARS- CoV-2 virus. They identified the two that would form the most powerful mix when used in combination.

"An important goal of this research was to evaluate the most potent
antibodies that bind to different molecules in the spike protein so
they could be mixed together as a treatment," said study co-author
Stuart Weston, PhD, a post- doctoral research fellow in the Department
of Microbiology and Immunology.

The cocktail containing the two antibodies is now being tested in a new clinical trial sponsored by Regeneron that will investigate whether the
therapy can improve the outcomes of COVID-19 patients (both those who
are hospitalized and those who are not). It will also be tested as a
preventive therapy in those who are healthy but at high risk of getting
sick because they work in a healthcare setting or have been exposed to
an infected person.

"Our School of Medicine researchers continue to provide vital advances
on all fronts to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately save
lives," said Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, who is also Executive
Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and
Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine. "This particular research not only contributes to a potential
new therapy against COVID-19 but could have broader implications in terms
of the development of monoclonal antibody therapies for other diseases."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Maryland_School_of_Medicine. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Johanna Hansen, Alina Baum, Kristen E. Pascal, Vincenzo Russo,
Stephanie
Giordano, Elzbieta Wloga, Benjamin O. Fulton, Ying Yan, Katrina
Koon, Krunal Patel, Kyung Min Chung, Aynur Hermann, Erica Ullman,
Jonathan Cruz, Ashique Rafique, Tammy Huang, Jeanette Fairhurst,
Christen Libertiny, Marine Malbec, Wen-yi Lee, Richard Welsh,
Glen Farr, Seth Pennington, Dipali Deshpande, Jemmie Cheng,
Anke Watty, Pascal Bouffard, Robert Babb, Natasha Levenkova,
Calvin Chen, Bojie Zhang, Annabel Romero Hernandez, Kei Saotome,
Yi Zhou, Matthew Franklin, Sumathi Sivapalasingam, David Chien
Lye, Stuart Weston, James Logue, Robert Haupt, Matthew Frieman,
Gang Chen, William Olson, Andrew J. Murphy, Neil Stahl, George
D. Yancopoulos, Christos A. Kyratsous. Studies in humanized mice
and convalescent humans yield a SARS-CoV-2 antibody cocktail.

Science, 2020; eabd0827 DOI: 10.1126/science.abd0827 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200616135739.htm

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