The most promising coronavirus therapy moves closer
Researchers at the Centre for Medical Biotechnology of Ghent University (VIB) are developing a drug that is potentially effective against all forms of coronavirus.
While we keep hoping that the whole population will be vaccinated in the near future, a small percentage of us (less than 10% according to pharmaceutical companies) will not be immunised. As long as the virus is still circulating, there is always a risk that some people will get sick.
At the Centre for Medical Biotechnology of Ghent University (VIB), researchers are reportedly on the verge of discovering an effective treatment that can prevent the development of severe symptoms in patients.
As VIB researcher Xavier Saelens explains, "Neutralising the virus with an antibody-based drug can play an important role in treating sick patients by preventing them from being seriously affected. This is particularly important for people with weakened immune systems who may not respond well to vaccines. It also represents a guarantee of treatment in the event that new variants are immune to vaccine protection."
The most astonishing thing is that these advances were made possible thanks to a young camelid that, more than four years ago, shortly after its birth, received injections of viral particles belonging to two other coronavirus strains already known at the time.
Clinical trials will begin on patients as soon as these results have been validated by the scientific community.