Nordic Life Science 1
D ENMARK Ali Salanti, professor, University of Co
penhagen Qiang Pan-Hammarström, professor, Karolinska Institutet SWED EN including researchers at Karolinska Institutet, have been able to join two natural antibodies into a single artificial molecule, called ‘bispecific antibody’, that targets two independent viral sites simultaneously. Pre-clinical trials showed that this antibody potently neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, including the recent UK variant circulating in Sweden and Europe with increased spread. In contrast to antibodies that target only one viral site, the bispecific antibody prevents the virus from changing its structure to evade therapy. “The coronavirus is mutating, and it will continue to mutate, so we need treatments that can keep up with these changes and work effectively on all variants of the virus,” says Qiang PanHammarström, professor, Karolinska Institutet, co-author of the study and the scientific coordinator of the consortium. The findings have been published in the scientific journal Nature. has been developed in collaboration with the companies AdaptVac, ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies and Bavarian Nordic, and within the Prevent nCoV project. The researchers have shown that one dose of their vaccine is very efficient, with two vaccinations resulting in an unprecedented high immune response. The researchers have also developed the technology on which ABNCoV2 is based, called cVLP, (capsid virus-like particle). It is a particle mimicking a virus, but it is completely harmless. By closely combining antigens from the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, on the surface of the harmless virus copy and ’injecting’ the body with the harmless virus, the researchers are able to trick the body’s immune system into creating a strong response to the antigens. This teaches the body to recognize the SARS-CoV-2 virus as something dangerous, and it therefore produces large amounts of antibodies against this particular virus. NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE 21 PHOTO ERIK FLYG PHOTO KRISTIAN BRASEN