Novel COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies for patient diagnostics, therapy and research

At a Glance

This project aimed to address the unmet needs of current COVID-19 testing by developing novel molecules called monoclonal antibodies that act to restore, enhance, or mimic the immune system’s attack on the COVID-19 virus. The researchers successfully developed monoclonal antibodies that block viral entry into cells. In the future, these molecules can be incorporated into tests and contribute to therapies for COVID-19.

The Challenge

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus, and, in the absence of a vaccine at its onset, the ability to return to normal life in Wisconsin was contingent upon the ability to accurately detect when the virus was present in patients through a sensitive test. At the time, the approach for COVID-19 testing required expensive equipment, was time consuming and labor intensive, and had high rates of false positive and false negative results. As a result, these methods did not meet the testing needs of the pandemic.

Project Goals

This project’s goal was to address the unmet needs of COVID-19 testing by developing molecules called monoclonal antibodies that act to restore, enhance, or mimic the immune system’s attack on the coronavirus by targeting the features of the virus that are required for infection and disease. To achieve this goal, researchers first sought to generate a large collection of high-affinity monoclonal antibodies against the COVID-19 virus. Second, they aimed to test the monoclonal antibodies for affinity and specificity to COVID-19 purified proteins and clinical samples.

Results

The researchers were successful in generating more than 18 high-affinity monoclonal antibodies. Viral-like particles were used to assess the monoclonal antibodies’ ability to block viral entry into host cells. The antibodies demonstrated diverse functionality in binding and blocking viral entry, and the researchers were able to establish a “bank” of monoclonal antibodies that can be used for both therapies and diagnosis.

A new partnership was formed with Dr. Thomas Gallagher, a renowned coronavirus researcher and expert on the spike protein, one target of this team’s monoclonal antibodies.

Looking to the Future

In the future, these monoclonal antibodies could be incorporated into a point-of-care assay kit to test for COVID-19 in either in the clinic setting or through a home-based kit. Further, they may also be used as a therapy for extremely sick patients.