The antibody cocktail has been shown to be 100% effective.
Scientists at the California biotech company Sorrento Therapeutics seem to be the closest thing to developing a drug that can effectively combat coronavirus infection. They claim to have found an antibody that completely blocks COVID-19, writes Fox News.
During laboratory experiments, it stopped the infection of healthy cells with coronavirus in 100% of cases. STI-1499 is a cocktail of a dozen antibodies, a protein contained in blood plasma that is secreted by cells of the immune system, designed to neutralize pathogens. Antibodies were taken from the blood plasma of recovered patients.
The antibody cocktail acts as a protective shield for healthy cells. It blocks the virus from approaching a healthy cell to entering it through the spines.
“It’s like our antibody envelops the virus and removes it from the body,” says Sorrento Therapeutics CEO Henry G. - When an antibody prevents the virus from entering a human cell, the pathogen can no longer survive. If it cannot enter the cell, then it cannot reproduce. And ultimately dies.
The development of antibodies for a drug against coronavirus is now being carried out in several American laboratories, including the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Sorrento Therapeutics are planning to combine their developments in the near future.
The biotechnology company said it could produce up to 200,000 dosages per month. It is possible that a drug against coronavirus may appear before the vaccine.
Sorrento Therapeutics has filed an application with the US Food and Drug Administration for approval and an accelerated license to release the drug, but has not received a response so far. It is possible that such a delay is due to the fact that clinical trials of the antibody took place exclusively in laboratory conditions, and not in real ones - it was not tested on people with coronavirus.
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