Researchers develop antibodies '1000 times' better at neutralising SARS-Cov-2

The study involved researchers from the Max Planck Institute and the University Medical Center Goettingen, both based in Germany.

Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry have developed antibodies which, they claim, are “highly potent and stable,” and can effectively block SARS CoV-2, the virus which causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The antibodies were developed from the blood of alpacas, a species of mammals found in South America.

The antibodies were developed from the blood of alpacas, a species of mammals from South America (Image used only for representative purpose)

For the study, the team immunised three alpacas with parts of the coronavirus spike protein. The animals then produced antibodies, while scientists also extracted a small sample of blood from them. Next, the team used bacteriophages (viruses which infect bacteria) to select the best antibodies from an initially vast pool. These were then tested for efficacy against SARS CoV-2, and improved in successive rounds of optimisation.

“For the first time, these antibodies combine extreme stability and outstanding efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, including Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma,” said Dirk Gorlich, director at MPI for Biophysical Chemistry. These mini-antibodies, also called nanobodies, are currently being prepared for clinical trials, researchers said.

The study, published in the EMBO journal, also noted that these nanobodies are “1000 times better” than previously developed antibodies in neutralising the virus. That these nanobodies can be produced at low costs and in large quantities could be a solution to the global demand for Covid-19 therapeutics, it further said.

The research also witnessed participation from scientists at from the University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), which, like MPI, is a German institute. “Our nanobodies can withstand temperatures of up to 95 degrees Celsius without losing their functions or aggregates. They might remain active in the body long enough to be effective,” said Matthias Dobblestein, director at the UMG’s Institute of Molecular Oncology.

Antibodies help the immune system in fighting against pathogens. These can be produced industrially and used to treat acutely ill patients. Antibodies act like drugs, relieving symptoms, and shorten recovery period from the disease.

(With PTI inputs)