Sars-CoV-2 always seems to be one step ahead: New variants reduce the effectiveness of existing antibody drugs and vaccines. Researchers may now have found a way out: an antibody that turns off all corona variants.
Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, new variants of Sars-CoV-2 have been causing problems for mankind. Researchers have now discovered an antibody that could offer an effective therapy against all previous and future variants. And not only that: the antibody is also effective against the deadly former corona viruses Sars-CoV – which triggered a pandemic in 2002/2003 – and Mers-CoV, which appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012. And it is even effective against several generally harmless cold coronaviruses.
Researchers have been looking for a general-purpose antibody for a long time. A team has now found 1249A8 in the blood of Covid 19 patients, a “top performer”, according to a statement from the University of Alabama. Its special feature: This antibody also attacks the virus on its spike protein, the spikes on the envelope with which it gains access to human cells – but in contrast to previous antibodies, 1249A8 chooses a particularly sensitive spot. The researchers published their find in the journal “Plos Pathogens”.
Antibody drugs and vaccines have so far focused on the tip of the spike protein. The problem with this: This changes from variant to variant. With the emergence of delta, gamma and omicron, many antibodies “became irrelevant” over time, study co-author James Kobie said. New antibody agents first have to be developed from scratch – it’s like a cat-and-mouse game. But 1249A8 does it differently: it targets the stalk of the spike protein. Because this remains almost identical in all variants and is at the same time indispensable for the virus – its Achilles heel, so to speak.
“New variants carry the risk of evading the immune system – even in vaccinated and previously infected people,” says Kobie. As a result, there is a risk that new strains with pandemic potential will also appear in the future. The search for new drugs and vaccine strategies that are universally effective against the corona virus is therefore of “crucial importance”.
But can the new universal antibody really be the hoped-for panacea? In animal experiments, he has already been able to protect mice from disease, the researchers write. Together with the Aridis company, a cocktail was mixed with another antibody that significantly reduced the viral load in hamsters. People are to be treated with the preparation AR-701 in the future. It is intended to be inhaled and effective for a longer period of time – over a year at best. The researchers also hope that their findings could also contribute to the development of universal vaccines against corona viruses.