“Not everyone can do it. Dr. Dimitrov and his team not only identified potential therapies in record time, before most Americans were even aware that a pandemic was looming, but by publishing their method, they’ve also better prepared the world for future emerging diseases.” — IDM's John Mellors
TIMES OBSERVER - Pitt scientists have discovered the fastest way to identify potent, neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. When Chinese scientists published the virus' genetic sequence January, Dimitrov’s team rapidly generated the virus’s receptor binding domain—part of the spike protein that attaches to human cells—and used it as “bait” to pan their multiple libraries of over 1 trillion human antibodies built over preceding years
In contrast, the major method used this year to identify antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2 was to find patients who have recovered from COVID-19, isolate their cells that produce antibodies against the virus and extract the antibodies from those cells. Large numbers of antibodies then must be screened to find those that bind most tightly to the virus, which adds more time to the discovery process. So while the Pitt team had identified Ab1 back in February, major companies didn’t have their monoclonal antibodies until the end of March or early April.
"The main differences between our rapid ‘panning’ method and the ‘screening’ process used by most companies this year to discover antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 is that panning is much quicker than screening, and we don’t have to wait for infected patients to recover and make antibodies,” Dimitrov said. “We found our monoclonal antibody in under a week in February, which validated how well our panning methods work. This will save precious time in getting antibody therapy into people the next time a deadly virus emerges.”
Their method, described today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, produced an antibody called “Ab1” which is on track for human clinical trials by early next year.
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11/16/2020