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Health N e w s p a p e r F o r C h i l d r e n

How do coronavirus antibody

treatments work and what do they
mean for COVID-19?

Much of the world's attention has been captured by the race for a coronavirus
vaccine.
But the development of novel drug therapies can offer us hope too — not only
for the treatment of COVID-19, but for how we might prevent it.
Last week, Victorian researchers announced they had developed a new
antibody-based therapy for COVID-19 which they hope to begin testing in
humans next year.
Like vaccines, antibody therapies (like the one being developed) aim to bolster
the immune system's ability to recognise and neutralise the virus.
But instead of imitating the infection — so that the body's immune system learns
how to ght it in the future — they're designed to ght off the virus in patients
who are sick or offer short-term immunity to people who have been exposed.
"We're interested in developing antibodies that can actually block the entry of
the virus into the cells and therefore stop virus infection," said Associate
Professor Wai-Hong Tham from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.
The experimental treatment, which is made up of lab-engineered antibodies, is
one of dozens of antibody therapies being developed, with several clinical Antibodies are y-shaped molecules released by the
trials already underway. immune system that bind to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
So how exactly do these therapies work? And if they provide protection, how
long might it last?
It can help to think of it as a lock-and-key mechanism, according
How do antibody therapies to Dr Labzin.
"If you're the virus and you're holding the key in your hand ... then

work? an antibody that binds right at your hand is going to be more
effective than something that binds to your head," she said.
"The best antibodies are the ones that bind to the spike protein at
Antibodies are proteins released by the immune system that bind to foreign exactly the point the protein binds to the ACE-2 receptors that
invaders (like viruses) and signal to the immune system to get to work, said allow the virus to get into cells.”
Larisa Labzin, an immunologist at the University of Queensland.
"When our immune system responds to an infection like a virus, one of the things Associate Professor
it does is makes loads of antibodies, and each of those antibodies is produced Wai-Hong Tham
by a different antibody-producing cell," Dr Labzin said. from the Walter and
"A monoclonal antibody means it's exactly the same antibody produced by one Eliza Hall Institute,
cell." w h o s e t e a m i s
But not all types of antibodies are created equal. Some will be better at collaborating with
neutralising viruses like SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) than others. the Doherty Institute,
Unlike convalescent plasma, a treatment that takes whole plasma from a Burnet Institute and
recovered person, and infuses it into another patient with the disease, CSIRO.
monoclonal antibody therapy uses a much more targeted approach. In Victoria, researchers have screened blood plasma of
"The idea with [monoclonal antibody therapy] is to nd exactly which recovered COVID-19 patients for billions of antibodies
antibodies bind really well to the virus and are effective at blocking the virus. (produced by SARS-CoV-2 infection) to nd "the most potent
Researchers can isolate those [antibodies] and then manufacture them in the ones".
lab," Dr Labzin said. Dr Pham said they've developed a treatment that involves a
Rather than waiting for a vaccine (or the virus itself) to trigger an immune combination of antibodies that "gum-up" the function of the spike
response, antibody drugs are designed to mimic the body's natural defences to protein and stop it entering human cells.
disable the invading virus.
This cocktail approach — of combining a few different antibody
Targeting the spike protein types — is designed to stop the virus becoming resistant to any
particular antibody.
When it comes to developing treatments for COVID-19, researchers are "By combining two different types of antibodies, you can stop the
focused on nding antibodies that specically target the spike protein on the escape of viral mutations as well," Dr Pham said.
surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to Dr Tham. The researchers have shown success in human cells in the lab and
"The virus spike protein is the exact protein on the virus that is used to enter the next step is human trials.
human cells," she said. “We don't have a timeframe, because of paramount importance
now is to make it as safe and effective as possible," Dr Pham said.
"So if you can use antibodies to block those virus spike proteins, you
can block virus entry [to the cells], and you can also then block virus "If we're very hopeful then we're looking at clinical trials
infection." early next year."

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