Monoclonal antibodies identified in convalescent plasma COVID-19

Simon Collins, HIV i-Base

Italian researchers from GSK report on isolation of broadly neutralising monoclonal antibodies from convalescent plasma that will be lead candidates as potential treatment for COVID-19.

This study, currently online before peer review, involved screening more than 1,100 memory B cells from seven people who had recovered from COVID-19 and incubating cells for two weeks to allow natural production of antibodies. Of these, 318 B cells expressed human monoclonal antibodies that inhibited the spike protein in vitro, 74 of which inhibited binding to receptors on Vero E6 cells, and 17 neutralised CoV-2 in vitro.

These will be studied as lead compounds for further development as potential treatments.

Reference

Andreano E et al. Identification of neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies from Italian Covid-19 convalescent patients. Published before peer review.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.05.078154v2

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