Llama antibodies become a "game-changer" in the fight against COVID-19
<p>A lab in Belgium have conducted some unusual clinical trials in the fight against COVID-19. </p>
<p><span>Researchers from the VIB-UGent Centre for Medical Biotechnology in Ghent have discovered that antibodies from llamas have the ability to stunt the severity of coronavirus.</span><span></span></p>
<p><span>Antibodies extracted from a llama, named Winter, have been dubbed a "game-changer" after the Belgian </span>biomedical start-up believes they can curb the effects of different COVID-19 variants.</p>
<p>The unique technology would supplement r<span>ather than replace vaccines by protecting people who are immunocompromised and treating infected people in hospitals. </span></p>
<p><span>Unusually small llama antibodies are able to bind to specific parts of the virus’s protein spike.</span></p>
<p><span>Dominique Tersago, chief medical officer of VIB-UGent spin-off ExeVir, has said the discovery could be huge for COVID-19 advancements. </span></p>
<p><span>“At the moment we’re not seeing mutations of a high frequency anywhere near where the binding site is,” Tersago said.</span></p>
<p><span>The antibodies also showed “strong neutralisation activity” against the highly infectious Delta variant, she added.</span></p>
<p><span>Researchers expect clinical trials in healthy volunteers, which started last week in partnership with a Belgian pharmaceutical company, along with those in hospitalised patients, to be similarly effective.</span></p>
<p><span>VIB-UGent group leader Xavier Saelens said that llamas and other members of the camel family, have conventional antibodies that are smaller, more stable and easier to replicate. </span></p>
<p><span>“Their small size... allows them to reach targets, reach parts of the virus that are difficult to access with conventional antibodies,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span>The unusual search for alternative COVID-19 treatments follows a series of studies from 2016 into llama antibodies to help treat the SARS and MERS coronaviruses. </span></p>
<p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p>
