Llama antibodies may neutralize Covid-19 and help prevent complications

By Edward Era Barbacena

Brussels-lLlama antibodies could be a potent force to neutralize Covid variants and help reduce certain infections, claimed by biomedical company.

Researchers from the VIB-UGENT center for Medical Biotechnology in Ghent Belgium, have discovered that antibodies extracted from llama named Winter have somehow neutralized the Covid-19 virus and its variants in laboratory testing conducted.

The treatment would supplement vaccines by giving a considerable enhanced protection against the virus to individuals who have compromised immune systems or help those who have been infected by the virus with severe cases.

Llama antibodies in comparison to other antibodies of ther animals are unlikely small, and are able to bind to a speciefic part of the virus' spike protein blocking it from infecting other cells.

"Their small size..allows them to reach targets, reach parts of the virus that are difficult to access with conventional antibodies," VIB-UGENT leader Xaviet Saelens said.

Chief medical officer, Dominoque Tersago said the antibodies have been in lab studies to show "strong neutralization activity" against the highly contagious Delta variant, which has led to case surges across the globe.

Researchers launched clinical trials last week to study the antibodies with healthy volunteers and hospitalized patients and expect the study to have similar outcomes.

The develoment of the treatment comes after the studies conducted in 2016 that showed Llama antibodies were effective against SARS  and MERS coronaviruses.