A biomedical company has claimed that flame antibodies could be a powerful force in preventing infections by contagious variants of COVID-19.
Researchers at the VIB-UGent Medical Biotechnology Center in Ghent, Belgium, have discovered that antibodies extracted from a flame called Winter have neutralized the virus, including its variants, in laboratory tests.
Treatment would complement vaccines by providing improved protection to people with a weakened immune system or would help people who have been hospitalized with the virus, the company said.
Flame antibodies, which are unusually small, are able to bind to a specific part of the ear’s ear protein, preventing it from infecting cells.
“Their small size … allows them to reach targets, reach parts of the virus that are difficult to access with conventional antibodies,” said Xavier Saelens, leader of the VIB-UGent group.
Dominique Tersago, medical director, said the antibodies have been shown in laboratory studies to demonstrate “strong neutralizing activity” against the highly contagious Delta variant, which has led to an increase in cases worldwide.
The researchers launched clinical trials last week to study antibodies with healthy volunteers and hospitalized patients and hope the study will show similar results.
The development of the treatment comes after studies in 2016 showed that flame antibodies were effective against SARS and MERS coronaviruses.
With publishing cables