Antibodies on command? - Bert Hubert's writings
a day ago
- Antibodies from recovered COVID-19 patients can provide temporary immunity or faster healing, but limited supply makes this infeasible for everyone.
- A new Chinese study successfully isolated over 200 antibodies from 8 recovered patients, cloned them, and tested their ability to neutralize the virus.
- One antibody, P2C-1F11, blocked half the virus's infectivity at a concentration of only 100 nanograms per milliliter (less than 1 in 10 million).
- The researchers also performed genetic analysis of the antibodies and confirmed they are specific to the virus, not binding to unintended targets.
- While cloning and producing these antibodies is promising for research, it remains uncertain whether they can be safely and rapidly manufactured for human treatment.
- The author notes that this kind of research seemed impossible a month ago but is now a reality, though it may be ready for future outbreaks rather than the current one.