{"id":1675,"date":"2021-03-25T11:56:12","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T11:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=1675"},"modified":"2021-03-25T11:56:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T11:56:12","slug":"the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/","title":{"rendered":"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

A new antibody that can mount a double attack on the Sars-CoV-2 virus by binding to two different sites on the spike protein is starting human trials, leading to hopes of an antibody therapy that can maintain its effectiveness even against new variants of coronavirus.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

A virus is constantly mutating. Staying ahead of the evolutionary game is key in the fight against an infectious virus \u2013 especially one like the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, which has its genetic material encoded in RNA rather than the more stable DNA. Even the smallest change in its surface spike proteins can make it unrecognisable to the host\u2019s immune system, meaning a drug that\u2019s effective on the original virus may have little impact on its successors. That\u2019s why researchers are working against the clock to develop treatments and vaccines to tackle troublesome variants of the coronavirus, of which there are currently\u00a0three of concern<\/a>, with more likely to come.<\/p>\n

Many groups are putting their money on antibody cocktails to treat the symptoms of a Covid-19 infection. \u2018The idea is that one antibody in the cocktail will bind to a particular spike protein on the virus and another antibody will bind to another,\u2019 said Professor Qiang Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m from Sweden\u2019s Karolinska\u00a0Institute. \u2018That way, the cocktail still works even when one of the spike proteins mutates.\u2019<\/p>\n

The international project known as\u00a0ATAC<\/a>, however, is taking a radically different approach. Its researchers developed a single antibody that can mount a double attack on the coronavirus, rather than two antibodies working in tandem. The group\u2019s \u2018bispecific\u2019 antibody binds to two separate sites on the spike protein on the virus\u2019 surface, therefore remaining potent even if one of the two sites undergoes a significant mutation.<\/p>\n

\u2018Experiments \u2013 both in-vitro and using animal models \u2013 show this antibody binds well to all variants of the virus,\u2019 said Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m, who is the coordinator of the ATAC consortium. \u2018Our two-in-one model seems to prevent the virus from escaping the immune response.\u2019<\/p>\n

Double attack<\/strong><\/p>\n

Late last year, a two-antibody cocktail created by biotech company Regeneron brought hope for coronavirus patients \u2013\u00a0studies<\/a>\u00a0showed it boosted the body\u2019s defence against Covid-19, reducing hospitalisations and deaths. It was authorised for\u00a0emergency use<\/a>\u00a0in the US. In February, a second cocktail \u2013 this one produced by Eli Lilly \u2013 was given similar US approval, and shortly after, the European Medicines Agency (EMA)\u00a0expressed a positive opinion<\/a>\u00a0of Lilly\u2019s cocktail. But less than a month on, new studies suggest the treatment is being outwitted by a constantly evolving virus, with new variants of the disease\u00a0showing resistance<\/a>\u00a0to the monoclonal, or lab-made, antibodies.<\/p>\n

\u2018The coronavirus is mutating, and it will continue to mutate, so we need treatments that can keep up with these changes and work effectively on all variants of the virus,\u2019 said Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m. \u2018In other words, we need solutions that save lives now and also prepare us for the future.\u2019<\/p>\n

Though bispecific antibodies, such as the one emerging from the ATAC consortium, are gaining popularity in the treatment of certain cancers (where one part of an antibody might bind to a tumour cell and the other to an immune cell), the ATAC researchers are the first to produce a bispecific antibody against SARS-CoV-2, according to Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n

\u2018This antibody means we can stay one step ahead of the virus,\u2019 said Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m.\u00a0A\u00a0paper describing their findings<\/a>\u00a0has been published in the scientific journal\u00a0Nature<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The ATAC antibody (CoV-X2) was constructed by the team from two potent monoclonal antibody candidates derived from humans, chosen from a shortlist of over 100 antibodies. It is now being prepared for Phase 1 clinical trials, during which it will be tested on healthy volunteers. The trials will take place in Italy, the locus of Europe\u2019s first brutal outbreak of Covid-19 and home to an ATAC partner. Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m is hopeful that these trials will have been launched by the summer, and that a new, variant-resistant antibody could be on the market within six to eight months.<\/p>\n

\u2018We have some good vaccines for Covid and I\u2019m sure there will soon be vaccines for variants of the virus too, but infected patients are still getting very sick from this disease and they will continue to do so until we have some really good therapies available for them,\u2019 said Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m. \u2018Thus far, only two therapies have been found to work in large-scale randomised clinical trials \u2013 steroids (dexamethasone), which are used to reduce inflammation, and \u2026 medicine(s) used to treat for rheumatoid arthritis (drugs that block the interleukin-6 receptor), which is also immunomodulatory (modifies the response of the immune system).<\/p>\n

\u2018This is very disappointing \u2013 we definitely need to find new drugs to treat this illness.\u2019<\/p>\n

She added: \u2018We are confident that our antibody could be one of the treatments clinicians and patients have been waiting for.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The coronavirus is mutating, and it will continue to mutate, so we need treatments that can keep up with these changes.\u2019<\/p>\n

Prof. Qiang Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m, Karolinska Institute, Sweden<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Complementary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the onset of the pandemic, hundreds of projects have sprung up around the world to develop monoclonal antibodies to treat Covid-19 patients. These antibodies work in a similar way to vaccines, first recognising and then neutralising a virus, though they are regarded as complementary to, not replacements for, regular vaccines.<\/p>\n

When a person receives a vaccination, their immune system is triggered into producing infection-fighting antibodies and it can take several weeks for immunity to set in. By contrast, monoclonal antibodies (generated from natural antibodies that have undergone modifications) enter the bloodstream through a drip and are ready for action straight away. But though these antibodies mimic the infection-fighting work of the immune system, they don\u2019t last forever \u2013 typically, a monoclonal antibody will stick around for a number of weeks or months.<\/p>\n

\u2018Why do we need antibody therapies when there are now good vaccines against Covid? Because some people are immunocompromised and don\u2019t respond to a vaccine, plus of course it will take several years for the whole world to be vaccinated against Covid-19, so there will be an ongoing need for medicines that can temperately protect us or treat the disease,\u2019 explained Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n

The hope is to find an effective antibody treatment that can be mass produced and distributed at speed to hospitals around the world, though cost is a factor to be considered \u2013 antibodies are notoriously expensive to produce (to give an idea, the average annual price of monoclonal antibody cancer treatment in the US\u00a0exceeds \u20ac80,000 per person<\/a>). However, Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m says ATAC\u2019s double-whammy antibody goes some way to addressing this problem as a single antibody is a lot cheaper to produce than a cocktail of two, such as the ones created by Regeneron and Eli Lilly.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m not saying it will be half the cost, but it will be more cost effective,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Professor Luis Serrano from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Spain, who was involved in\u00a0Covid-19-related research<\/a>\u00a0nearer the start of the pandemic but is not involved in ATAC, welcomes research into bispecific antibodies but stresses the importance of \u2018very, very high affinity\u2019 between the antibody and both sites. \u2018Otherwise non-binding to one site could result in the antibody binding weakly to the other, and not being effective,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Models<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being prepared for the next pandemic \u2013 or for a catastrophic twist to the current one \u2013 through large-scale international collaborations is a major theme in today\u2019s research community.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s difficult to make predictions on whether a more dangerous variant will emerge in the future, but we can prepare for it,\u2019 said Prof. Pan-Hammarstr\u00f6m. She is among those calling for greater links between scientists and industry, where researchers are invited to float and test new ideas, and banks of antibodies are established well in advance of a new infection taking root.<\/p>\n

\u2018If we can prove the concept of our bispecific antibody, we can use computer and animal models to predict what a virus might do next, and to come up with solutions before there\u2019s an actual problem,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our consortium is already starting to work on this idea with scientists from around the world, including China. They have identified sequences for viruses from animals that don\u2019t yet infect humans, but one day might mutate and do just that. We could prepare ourselves by making antibodies against these viruses already now. We could create a pool of antibodies to dip into the moment a new infection emerges. We could stop the next pandemic before a single person has died.\u2019<\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon Magazine<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new antibody that can mount a double attack on the Sars-CoV-2 virus by binding to two different sites on the spike protein is starting human trials, leading to hopes of an antibody therapy that can maintain its effectiveness even against new variants of coronavirus. A virus is constantly mutating. Staying ahead of the evolutionary … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":1676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[398,359,362],"class_list":["post-1675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-antibody","tag-coronavirus","tag-pandemic"],"yoast_head":"\nThe new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new antibody that can mount a double attack on the Sars-CoV-2 virus by binding to two different sites on the spike protein is starting human trials, leading to hopes of an antibody therapy that can maintain its effectiveness even against new variants of coronavirus. A virus is constantly mutating. Staying ahead of the evolutionary ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-25T11:56:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Horizon Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Horizon Magazine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679\"},\"headline\":\"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-25T11:56:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1470,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"antibody\",\"coronavirus\",\"Pandemic\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/\",\"name\":\"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-25T11:56:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"An antibody (CoV-X2) was constructed by the ATAC team from two potent monoclonal antibody candidates derived from humans, chosen from a shortlist of over 100 antibodies. Image credit - Louis Reed \\\/ Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1675\\\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/horizon.magazine.eu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/twitter.com\\\/HorizonMagEU\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/horizonmagazine\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations","og_description":"A new antibody that can mount a double attack on the Sars-CoV-2 virus by binding to two different sites on the spike protein is starting human trials, leading to hopes of an antibody therapy that can maintain its effectiveness even against new variants of coronavirus. A virus is constantly mutating. Staying ahead of the evolutionary ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu","article_published_time":"2021-03-25T11:56:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Horizon Magazine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Horizon Magazine","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/"},"author":{"name":"Horizon Magazine","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679"},"headline":"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations","datePublished":"2021-03-25T11:56:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/"},"wordCount":1470,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg","keywords":["antibody","coronavirus","Pandemic"],"articleSection":["Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/","name":"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-25T11:56:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"An antibody (CoV-X2) was constructed by the ATAC team from two potent monoclonal antibody candidates derived from humans, chosen from a shortlist of over 100 antibodies. Image credit - Louis Reed \/ Unsplash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1675\/the-new-antibody-that-may-be-able-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-coronavirus-mutations\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The new antibody that may be able to stay \u2018one step ahead\u2019 of coronavirus mutations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679","name":"Horizon Magazine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Horizon Magazine"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU"],"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/horizonmagazine\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/louis-reed-pwcKF7L4-no-unsplash-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-r1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1282,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1282\/the-aim-is-to-find-the-monoclonal-the-hunt-for-the-antibody-to-treat-covid-19\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":0},"title":"\u2018The aim is to find the monoclonal\u2019: the hunt for the antibody to treat Covid-19","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Ian Le Guillou Transfusing antibodies from Covid-19 survivors into seriously ill patients could provide a quick treatment win, but a more selective approach may both treat and prevent the disease. A single, highly-effective antibody that is mass-produced like a drug could combine the benefits of antivirals and a vaccine for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"If researchers could find the most effective antibody against coronavirus, it could act as both a cure and temporary vaccine. Image credit - NIH Image Gallery, Public Domain Mark 1.0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/49565892377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/49565892377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/49565892377.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/49565892377.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1294,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1294\/alpacas-and-antibodies-how-scientists-hope-to-stop-coronavirus-in-its-tracks\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":1},"title":"Alpacas and antibodies: How scientists hope to stop coronavirus in its tracks","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"May 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Efforts to design a safe vaccine for Covid-19 are moving forward at full throttle, yet experts agree that it\u2019s likely to be a year, at least,\u00a0before an immunisation is ready. Meanwhile, scientists around Europe are exploring ingenious ways \u2013 including with the help of alpacas \u2013 to use the latest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stockholm-based researchers with the CoroNAb project are investigating the coronavirus antibodies produced by alpacas including Tyson, the small one pictured here, for potential use in human therapies. Image credit - Preclinics, Potsdam","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/Tyson.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/Tyson.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/Tyson.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/Tyson.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/Tyson.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/Tyson.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1254,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1254\/i-dont-see-any-other-way-out-diagnostic-testing-and-smartphone-contact-tracing-to-beat-pandemic\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":2},"title":"\u2018I don\u2019t see any other way out\u2019: Diagnostic testing and smartphone contact tracing to beat pandemic","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"April 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Vittoria D\u2019Alessio What makes the Covid-19 pandemic so difficult to contain? Silent transmission by asymptomatic patients is partly responsible, but research emerging from Germany suggests the SARS-CoV-2 virus has developed a second impressive strategy for ensuring its success: the ability to establish two separate communities within a host \u2013 the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Researchers have found two different virus populations in the throat and lungs of coronavirus patients, a whole new type of virus behaviour. Image credit - pixnio.com\/Darko Stojanovic, licenced under CC0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Pixnio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Pixnio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Pixnio-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Pixnio-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1528,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1528\/qa-how-covid-19-hijacks-human-cells\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":3},"title":"Q&A: How Covid-19 hijacks human cells","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"December 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The virus that causes\u00a0Covid-19\u00a0hijacks human cells by exploiting a\u00a0\u2018doorway\u2019\u00a0that is\u00a0potentially\u00a0also used by\u00a0other deadly viruses such as HIV,\u00a0dengue\u00a0and Ebola, according to recent research that may help to explain why the coronavirus is so highly infectious to a wide range of organs in the body.\u00a0 Dr\u00a0Yohei\u00a0Yamauchi, a viral cell biologist at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/image-from-rawpixel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/image-from-rawpixel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/image-from-rawpixel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/image-from-rawpixel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/image-from-rawpixel.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/image-from-rawpixel.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1555,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1555\/pcr-antigen-and-antibody-five-things-to-know-about-coronavirus-tests\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":4},"title":"PCR, antigen and antibody: Five things to know about coronavirus tests","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"December 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"To diagnose and contain the spread of coronavirus, testing is critical. There are two types of Covid-19 tests \u2014\u00a0those that are designed to detect whether you have the infection now, or those crafted to check whether you have been previously infected by the virus \u2014 SARS-CoV-2 \u2014\u00a0that causes the disease.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/1024px-Hradec_Kralove_drive-trhu_COVID-19_testing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/1024px-Hradec_Kralove_drive-trhu_COVID-19_testing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/1024px-Hradec_Kralove_drive-trhu_COVID-19_testing.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/1024px-Hradec_Kralove_drive-trhu_COVID-19_testing.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1230,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1230\/studying-animal-coronavirus-defences-is-opening-route-to-human-treatments\/","url_meta":{"origin":1675,"position":5},"title":"Studying animal coronavirus defences is opening route to human treatments","author":"Aisling Irwin","date":"April 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A team that has spent the last five years developing a pipeline of technologies that can churn out a remedy for almost any newly emerging virus may have treatments ready for safety trials on Covid-19 patients by the end of the year.\u00a0 The 20-strong private-public collaboration has been pooling and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scientists hope a new pipeline will be able to churn out remedies for any newly emerging virus. Image credit - Unsplash\/ Maksym Kaharlytskyi, licenced under CC0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Unsplash-coronavirus_sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Unsplash-coronavirus_sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Unsplash-coronavirus_sm.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Unsplash-coronavirus_sm.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}