Coronavirus, the immunologist: 'Found antibody to use as therapy'

“This virus still doesn’t tell us for sure whether it develops protective antibodies or not. We have to be very cautious about interpreting these serological tests.

CIt is certain that there are very important advances, such as the chimera antibody, whose technical name is 47d11, a somewhat particular antibody that we are told is certainly neutralizing. This is important news. The University of Utrecht, in the Netherlands, has published in Nature, that it has developed a monoclonal antibody. An antibody made in the laboratory, which can be reproduced continuously”. This was said by Professor Francesco Le Foche, clinical immunologist, speaking to the microphones of Rai Radio2 during the format “I Lunatici”.

“This antibody,” Le Foche explains, “binds to the harpoon of the virus and does not allow the harpoon of the virus to hook onto the cell. It is a neutralizing antibody that is not a vaccine. It is called passive immunotherapy. Today there is a lot of talk about plasma, this is something similar, but done in the laboratory and with selective antibodies, which work. In short, an antibody has been found that could be used for a therapy. It is not something immediate, but a fundamental progress because it can be used as a neutralizing antibody and be active on this virus, because it is specific. This antibody had already been studied for SARS, it was seen that this study was already put into practice at the time. Then it was not used,” the immunologist explains, “because SARS disappeared completely in July 2003. It will probably also happen with Covid-19. I hope this antibody is never used, but it is a fundamental aid. However, the coronavirus seems to reduce its virological power and cause less serious syndromes.”

Regarding the fight against Covid-19, Professor Le Foche said that “we are doing quite well. We have started phase 2, we are in the second half of a match. In the first half this virus that suddenly appeared created significant pressure on our national health system, especially in Lombardy, where there was no territory that cushioned this pressure a bit. There was a hospital-centric management of the therapy and this led to a failure of the system itself, but the situation to deal with was very difficult. I understand my colleagues and all the structures put in place in Lombardy, we did not know the extent of this pandemic. Today we are seeing less important syndromes from a clinical point of view. This could be due to a reduction in the virulence of the virus. I am a clinician, in the field I see less aggressive syndromes. And like me, in the field, other colleagues have seen it. Like Professor Bassetti or Professor Muzzi, high-profile people who have also interpreted this reduction in important clinical cases. We reserve intensive care for very rare cases, in the rest of the cases we are faced with less aggressive syndromes”, concluded the immunologist.