Faster recovery, non-severe diseases — new coronavirus antibody could be game changer

A team of researchers at the University of California, US, has developed an antibody that they say is capable of neutralising coronavirus.

Antibodies are blood proteins that the immune system produces to detect and destroy viruses or other foreign invaders in the body.

The researchers set out to immobilise the novel coronavirus, i.e., restrict it in the system of its carrier to aid their recovery.

They said the antibody “could diminish viral load (in patients) immediately”, therefore aiding faster recovery.

Peter Walter, a renowned scientist involved in the research whose finding is published here, also said the chances of developing severe disease “would be reduced by this treatment”.

“This is something that you could take after testing positive that could diminish your viral load immediately,” he said.

The researchers deployed a synthetic version of tiny antibodies earlier discovered in llamas and camels and referred to as nanobodies.

In December when they first published their findings, the researchers had proposed that the nanobodies could be used in an inexpensive and easy-to-transport nasal spray.

In addition to being “far cheaper and faster to mass-produce”, they also said the new antibody is easier to store than the traditional antibodies currently in use.

Although most people who recover from COVID-19 produce antibodies that fight the virus, there have been questions on how well those antibodies are able to completely neutralise the virus.

A particular study suggested that antibodies in recovering COVID-19 patients fade quickly, with their capacity to neutralise viral particles decreasing during the first weeks.