Antibody News and Research

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An antibody is a blood protein that is produced in response to and counteracts an antigen. Antibodies are produced in response to disease and help the body fight against the particular disease. In this way, antibodies help the body develop an immunity to disease.

Stabilized prefusion spike vaccine candidate induces powerful immune response

A new research paper by scientists at Janssen Vaccines & Prevention BV, in the Netherlands and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* is based on the assumption that an effective vaccine against these infections will induce neutralizing antibodies and an immune response favoring Th1 immunity.

3 Aug 2020

Dexamethasone should be a standard drug in severe COVID-19

Many scientists have explored the use of new as well as already approved drugs for this condition, and one of the very few promising leads is dexamethasone. Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid, which has been reported in some earlier studies to reduce mortality in these patients by 18% and 36% in COVID-19 patients who are on oxygen and ventilators, respectively.

3 Aug 2020

The race to a coronavirus vaccine

As the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases skyrocket to a staggering 18 million, the race to attain vaccine approval is on. More than a hundred candidate vaccines are being developed and tested to prevent infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Now, many vaccine candidates are undergoing human stage 2 and 3 trials to prove their efficacy and safety.

2 Aug 2020

Pre-COVID-19 coronavirus antibodies fail to neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in Austria have shown that antibodies with potent neutralizing activity against a well-established seasonal coronavirus had no neutralizing activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 Aug 2020

New bivalent vaccine delivers robust cell-mediated and humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2

In a groundbreaking bioRxiv study, US researchers demonstrate the capability of next-generation bivalent human adenovirus serotype 5 (hAd5) vaccine for inducing both cellular and humoral immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – using both an S protein sequence optimized for cell surface expression and a conserved nucleocapsid antigen designed to be transported to the endosomal subcellular compartment.

2 Aug 2020

Meta-analysis shows 57% mortality reduction with convalescent plasma in COVID-19

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in July 2020 reports that an older treatment modality, namely, the use of convalescent antibody-rich plasma, brings down the mortality rate in hospitalized COVID-19 patients by an astonishing 57%. This adds evidence for the use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of high-risk patients.

1 Aug 2020

Study examines glucocorticoid tapering in rheumatoid arthritis

Is the long-term use of glucocorticoids essential in people with chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, or can early discontinuation prevent characteristic side effects?

31 Jul 2020

Harbour BioMed and Viva Biotech announce strategic collaboration to promote incubation of biotech startups

Harbour BioMed, a global clinical stage biopharmaceutical company and Viva Biotech (Shanghai) Ltd., a world-leading structure-based drug discovery platform today announced a strategic partnership under which both parties will collate their respective expertise in drug discovery and development to promote the incubation of innovative biotech startups.

31 Jul 2020

BBI Solutions welcomes UK-RTC’s approval of its AbC-19 Rapid Test for professional use

BBI Solutions has welcomed the UK-Rapid Test Consortium’s announcement that their COVID-19 lateral flow antibody test, designed for people to use within their own homes, has received approval to go to market for professional use.

From BBI Solutions 31 Jul 2020

COVID-19 rapid antibody test receives CE mark and mass production begins

The COVID-19 rapid antibody test, developed by Abingdon Health, the medical device manufacturer leading the UK-Rapid Test Consortium, has received its CE mark. This means it is approved for professional use in the UK and EU.

31 Jul 2020

Researcher uses in silico analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to fast-track passive immunity

With millions of COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, people are turning to antibody tests to find out whether they have been exposed to the coronavirus that causes the disease. But what are antibodies? Why are they important? If we have them, are we immune to COVID-19? And if not, why not?

30 Jul 2020

Novel vaccine candidate robustly protects non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2

The development of a safe and effective vaccine will likely be required to end the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of scientists, led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center immunologist Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, now report that a leading candidate COVID-19 vaccine developed at BIDMC in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson raised neutralizing antibodies and robustly protected non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

30 Jul 2020

Scientists develop human lung organoids to study SARS-CoV-2 infection

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in July 2020 reports the development of a human distal lung culture system that can be functionally tested. This will help not only to understand how this infection produces disease but also to test the proliferative capacity of the stem cells in this part of the body.

30 Jul 2020

Study finds synthetic neutralizing/enhancing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in July 2020 reports the discovery of some antibody molecules that have powerful enhancing or neutralizing activity against the virus, in a library of synthetic antibodies. These hold the promise of being useful for the prevention or treatment of this illness.

30 Jul 2020

SARS-CoV-2 exposure five times more likely among Black and Hispanic pregnant women

Black and Hispanic pregnant women in Philadelphia are five times as likely as white and Asian women to have been exposed to the novel coronavirus, according to a new study led by Scott Hensley, PhD, an associate professor of Microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Karen Marie Puopolo, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Pediatrics and neonatologist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The study was published today in Science Immunology.

29 Jul 2020

Waterloo tech profiles antibodies in blood of COVID-19 patients

A world-leading University of Waterloo spinoff company, that decodes blood samples for potential treatments for illnesses like cancer and COVID-19, is expanding operations with the help of a $5-million USD investment.

29 Jul 2020

Inconsistent SARS-CoV-2 antibody results in nephrology workers

Using a broad spectrum of antibody tests the present study revealed inconsistent results for SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among asymptomatic individuals, while this was not the case among Covid-19 patients.

29 Jul 2020

Recurrent SARS-CoV-2 positives not infectious in discharged COVID-19 patients, says Chinese study

A new research paper from China published on the preprint server medRxiv* claims that recurrent positive results for SARS-CoV-2 are due to the presence of low levels of viral RNA fragments and not the shedding of infectious virus particles.

29 Jul 2020

Exciting cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate using Newcastle disease

Experts warn that the world may see repeated waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, scientists around the world are working hard to create a protective vaccine or antiviral, which could help to reduce the number of deaths and cases the next time around.

29 Jul 2020

Basigin/CD147 discarded as an accessory SARS-CoV-2 binding receptor

By using specialized assays customized to detect specific receptor interactions, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge UK find no evidence for direct binding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein to a transmembrane glycoprotein known as basigin.

28 Jul 2020