The Nuance
A Game-Changing Coronavirus Treatment That No One’s Talking About
Clinical trials for monoclonal antibodies are already underway, and the timelines are shorter than those for vaccines
For months, the world has watched and waited as the medical-science community labors to identify a remedy that will end the pandemic. In the United States, most of the public’s interest has been focused on the progress of the various vaccine candidates, which could provide the ultimate form of protection against the novel coronavirus.
Much less attention has been paid to monoclonal antibodies, which are drugs that contain specialized proteins that are intended to stop SARS-CoV-2 from infecting healthy cells. In many ways, these drugs do the work of a vaccine, only they do it more quickly and efficiently — if also less durably.
“Antibody-based therapies may offer one of the best near-term options for developing safe, effective treatments for Covid-19,” said Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institute of Health, in a blog post published in May. Since then, research teams have isolated monoclonal antibodies that — in test tubes and in monkeys — have blocked SARS-CoV-2 from spreading.
