Monoclonal antibodies: a remedial approach to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2, the newly emerged virus of the Coronaviridae family is causing havoc worldwide. The novel coronavirus 2019 was first reported in Wuhan, China marked as the third highly infectious pathogenic virus of the twenty-first century. The typical manifestations of COVID-19 include cough, sore throat, fever, fatigue, loss of sense of taste and difficulties in breathing. Large numbers of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients have mild to moderate symptoms, however severe and life-threatening cases occur in about 5–10% of infections with an approximately 2% mortality rate. For the treatment of SARS-CoV-2, the use of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) could be one approach. The receptor binding domain (RBD) and N-terminal domain (NTD) situated on the peak of the spike protein (S-Protein) of SARS-CoV-2 are immunogenic in nature, therefore, can be targeted by neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. Several bioinformatics approaches highlight the identification of novel SARS-CoV-2 epitopes which can be targeted for the development of COVID-19 therapeutics. Here we present a summary of neutralizing mAbs isolated from COVID-19 infected patients which are anticipated to be a better therapeutic alternative against SARS-CoV-2. However, provided the vast escalation of the disease worldwide affecting people from all strata, affording expensive mAb therapy will not be feasible. Hence other strategies are also being employed to find suitable vaccine candidates and antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 that can be made easily available to the population.

A Review of Potential Therapeutic Strategies for COVID-19

“…COVID-19 is a public health emergency of global concern. A large number of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients exhibit a mild-to-moderate illness, about 5-10% of the infections occur serious and life-threatening cases, and the mortality rate is about 2% [37]. The number of new confirmed patients continues to increase, highlighting the importance of the development of rapid and effective therapeutic strategies by the design of new specific drugs or the repurposing of existing drugs [38].…”

SARS‐CoV‐2 neutralising antibody therapies: Recent advances and future challenges

“…Sotrovimab, a cutting-edge monoclonal antibody therapy, has been designed to inhibit the activity of the virus responsible for COVID-19. Regrettably, a multivariable clinical trial revealed that both sotrovimab and BRII-196/BRII-198 can not demonstrate any effective clinical outcomes in hospitalised COVID-19 adult patients 104,105. Intriguingly, as the first medication to receive FDA authorisation for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19, Evusheld has undergone a revision in its Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) by the FDA, increasing the recommended dosage to enhance its preventive efficacy.…”