Tulane researchers develop a synthetic antibody treatment for COVID-19 that’s shown promising results in lab mice.
Tulane Internal Medicine Chair Dr. Jay Kolls says their protein, MDR504, is able to get into the lungs and neutralize coronavirus in the place where it is most likely to do damage.
“It binds the virus and prevents it from infecting the lung cells, the host cells,” says Kolls.
Kolls says the treatment is similar to antibody treatment for RSV, a respiratory illness most commonly seen in preterm infants. He says this treatment is not cost-effective enough to replace a vaccine, but could be an effective hold over until one is developed, and a good alternative for people who’s health conditions do not allow them to take vaccines.
Data from the study indicates patients would receive a dose of the antibody every one to two weeks to maintain immunity.
Kolls says the hope is to get this treatment into human trials sometime in the fall, which is impressive considering they started work on MDR504 in March.
“We moved fast and have a great team of people who have worked very hard sometimes 16-18 hours days to work on this project,” says Kolls.
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