The specialist journal Nature published a study carried out by a team of European researchers that developed a super monoclonal antibody able to protect from Covid and all Sars-Cov-2 variants. Called CoV-X2, the discovery also arises from the contribution of Italy thanks to the important contribution given by San Matteo Polyclinic Foundation of Pavia.
The study and tests carried out
The super antibody is able to recognize simultaneously two different virus antigens. It is therefore potentially effective with respect to antibodies that recognize a single antigen, as it would significantly reduce the selection of resistant variants. Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Community, relaunched the news of the discovery. "Thanks to the work of EU-funded researchers, this new discovery could prevent and treat Covid-19 cases, saving lives“, Commented on Bulgarian politics. The European Commission is in fact the financier of the research project.
The research team combined two natural antibodies into a single man-made molecule in particular was born on the basis of C121 and C135, two antibodies derived from donors who had recovered from Covid-19. In the study, the team explains that unlike other multispecific antibodies, CoV-X2 is a fully human molecule and, as such, it is suitable for further development and could be designed to alter actual functions. The preclinical tests instill optimism for the future considering that CoV-X2 would be able to protect against the main variants of the new coronavirus, including the English one.
In addition, a test conducted on Sars-CoV-2 infected rodents with lung inflammation produced excellent results. The super-antibody is in fact able to "protect mice from disease and suppress viral escape". According to the authors, the high efficacy and characteristics of the bispecific "super-antibody" make it an excellent candidate for clinical trials. The CoV-X2 is therefore a candidate to be used in the prevention and treatment of patients, a great step in research to eradicate Covid.
The contribution of the Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia
Italy participated with the Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia especially in the first phase of immunotherapy with hyperimmune plasma. Fausto Baldanti, head of the Molecular Virology Laboratory of San Matteo di Pavia, explained the development phases of the project: "The antibody was developed as part of the ATAC (Antibody Therapy Against Coronavirus) research project. IS funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The first goal of the project concerned immunotherapy with hyperimmune plasma, developed mainly in Pavia. The second approach, gamma-globulin immunotherapy, developed by the Karolinka Institutet in Stockholm. The third phase, ie immunotherapy using monoclonal antibodies, was developed by the Technische Universität Braunschweig, and by the IRB of Bellinzona. The biological characteristics and efficacy of the monoclonal antibodies thus produced have been defined by our research group at San Matteo ”.
