Engineering antibodies to neutralize COVID-19

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“Our advances in antibody engineering technologies and access to the complete genomes of the COVID-19 virus and its relatives provides us with an opportunity to create tailored therapeutic antibodies at a scale and speed that was not possible even a few years ago”

Sachdev Sidhu, Researcher

Engineering antibodies to neutralize COVID-19

In the fight against COVID-19, researchers at the University of Toronto, are engineering antibody molecules to neutralize the novel coronavirus to prevent it from invading human cells.

The study, being led by Sachdev Sidhu, has received second round funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for emergency COVID-19 research.

The antibodies will be engineered to block S-protein (the spike protein) and will prevent the spikes from binding to human cells, using a technology called phage display to rapidly create and select human antibodies with desired biological properties, to ultimately protect humans from COVID-19.

The team believes their findings could circumvent current concerns about future virus mutations, as their use of host protein would not change. They are hopeful experiments can take place on mice in as little as three months.

To learn more, visit University of Toronto.