There are new discoveries every day. Some end up not delivering, others will work. This offers some hope.
Today, Israel announced a breakthrough: an antibody that can neutralize COVID-19 has been developed.
Via Jerusalem Post.
The Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) has completed the development phase of COVID-19 antibody or passive vaccine, according to a statement by the Defense Ministry.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett visited the Ness Ziona-based lab on Monday and was briefed by the research team, who revealed a breakthrough antibody that attacks the virus and neutralizes it in the body….
A second Israeli research team, MigVax, has also reported that it is close to completing the first phase of development of a coronavirus vaccine. Last week, it secured a $12 million investment from OurCrowd to accelerate the path to clinical trials.
Scientists have identified an antibody in a lab that they say can prevent the novel coronavirus from infecting cells. The team hopes the antibody could be used to create treatments for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Since the coronavirus began infecting people in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, more than 3.5 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, over a million have recovered and almost 248,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The team, whose research was published in the journal Nature Communications, have been exploring whether what are known as monoclonal antibodies could help patients with COVID-19. Currently there is no vaccine or specific treatment for the disease. Monoclonal antibodies are a type of protein created in a lab which can bind to a specific substance in the body. These types of antibodies mimic how the immune system responds to a threat, and are used to treat some forms of cancer.
