Highly Potent Mini-Antibodies '1000 Times' Better at Neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 Could Be Promising Agents to Treat COVID-19

Researchers have developed mini-antibodies that efficiently block the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its dangerous new variants.

These so-called nanobodies developed by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen, Germany) and the University Medical Center Göttingen (Göttingen, Germany) bind and neutralize the virus up to 1000 times better than previously developed mini-antibodies. In addition, the scientists optimized their mini-antibodies for stability and resistance to extreme heat. This unique combination makes them promising agents to treat COVID-19. Since nanobodies can be produced at low costs in large quantities, they could meet the global demand for COVID-19 therapeutics. The new nanobodies are currently in preparation for clinical trials.

The mini-antibodies (also known as VHH antibodies or nanobodies) unite all the properties required for a potent drug against COVID-19. At first glance, the new nanobodies hardly differ from anti-Sars-CoV-2 nanobodies developed by other labs. They are all directed against a crucial part of the coronavirus spikes, the receptor-binding domain that the virus deploys for invading host cells. The nanobodies block this binding domain and thereby prevent the virus from infecting cells. The scientists are currently preparing the nanobodies for therapeutic use.

“We want to test the nanobodies as soon as possible for safe use as a drug so that they can be of benefit to those seriously ill with COVID-19 and those who have not been vaccinated or cannot build up an effective immunity,” said Matthias Dobbelstein, professor and director of the University Medical Center Göttingen’s Institute of Molecular Oncology.

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Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
University Medical Center Göttingen