Alpaca nanobodies potently neutralise SARS-CoV-2 variants

London, March 26 A team of researchers has developed a novel strategy for identifying potent miniature antibodies, so-called nanobodies, against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The approach, published in the journal Science Advances, led to the discovery of multiple nanobodies that in cell cultures and mice effectively blocked infection with different SARS-CoV-2 variants.

"With the help of advanced laboratory techniques, we were able to identify a panel of nanobodies that very effectively neutralized several variants of SARS-CoV-2," said researcher Gerald McInerney from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

Despite the roll-out of vaccines and antivirals, the need for effective therapeutics against severe Covid-19 infection remains high.

Nanobodies which are fragments of antibodies that occur naturally in camelids and can be adapted for humans are promising therapeutic candidates as they offer several advantages over conventional antibodies.

For example, they have favourable biochemical properties and are easy to produce cost-effectively at scale.

In the now published studies, the labs of a few researchers identify several potent nanobodies derived from an alpaca immunised with SARS-CoV-2 antigens.

The results revealed additional nanobodies that in cell cultures and mice effectively cross-neutralized both the founder and beta variant of SARS-CoV-2 and even neutralized the more distantly related SARS-CoV-1.

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