Combinations of two antibodies effective against wide range of variants in mice and hamsters
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson observes as a woman receives a dose of a novel Coronavirus vaccine, during his visit to a vaccination centre in London on Monday. Pic/AFP
Covid-19 therapies made from a cocktail of two types of antibodies were found to be effective against a wide range of variants of the coronavirus in a study on mice and hamsters, scientists say.
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The researchers tested single and combination antibody therapies authorised for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or that are in late-stage clinical trials, against emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The study, published on Monday in the journal Nature, suggests that many, but not all, therapies made from combinations of two antibodies are effective against a
wide range of variants of the virus in mice and hamsters.
The researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in the US also found that combination therapies appear to prevent the emergence of drug resistance.
The findings suggest that Covid-19 drugs made of two antibodies often retain potency as a therapy against variants even when in vitro studies - experiments conducted in a dish.
“We knew how these antibodies were behaving in vitro, but we don’t give people drugs based solely on cell culture data,” said study senior author Michael S Diamond, a professor of Medicine at Washington University.
“When we looked in animals, there were some surprises. Some of the combinations performed better than we thought they would, based on in vitro data. And there was no drug resistance to combinations whatsoever, across all of the different variants,” Diamond said.
The researchers said the effectiveness of antibody therapy should be monitored as more variants arise. However, they noted a combination therapy is likely needed
for treating infections with this virus as more variants emerge.
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‘Go to India or somewhere, to America’
Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to arrest Filipinos who don’t want to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and asked them to leave and “go to India if you want or somewhere, to America.” Speaking during a pre-recorded televised public address on Monday, Duterte said the country is facing a national emergency. “There is a crisis being faced in this country. If you don’t want to get vaccinated, I will have you arrested. And I will inject the vaccine in your butt. You are pests. We are already suffering and you’re adding to the burden,” Duterte was quoted by INQUIRER.NET.
“So all you Filipinos listening, watch out. Don’t force my hand into it. I have a strong arm for that. Nobody likes it. But if you won’t get vaccinated, leave the Philippines. Go to India if you want or somewhere to America. But as long as you are here and you are a human being that can carry the virus, get yourself vaccinated,” Duterte said.
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