TORONTO -- A biomedical engineer at the University of Toronto says his team has developed a synthetic antibody that could help those sick with COVID-19 fight off its symptoms.
An antibody injection helps those who are symptomatic and at risk, and who can鈥檛 produce necessary antibodies in time to prevent the severe results of COVID-19, says Sachdev Sidhu, who is appointed to the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research.
His team has developed an 鈥渁ntibody we believe should be a therapeutic and we are now working with the National Research Council in Montreal to do what we call a scale up so we can make enough of it that we can do clinical trials,鈥 Sidhu said on CTV鈥檚 Your Morning Monday.
Sidhu said he鈥檚 hopeful about those results and that, at the same time, they are working to have many doses on hand to treat COVID-19 patients once approval is in place.
About 95 per cent of people can fight off COVID-19 on their own, says Sidhu, who is a professor of molecular genetics in the Faculty of Medicine.
鈥淏ut if you鈥檙e critical, if you鈥檙e old, if you鈥檙e immune-compromised or vulnerable in our society, you should have this immune boost.鈥
Sidhu鈥檚 lab has received $1.3 million through two rounds of federal grants to accelerate its work. One project is to develop molecules that can target the virus inside cells and another is looking at those that can prevent it from getting in at all.
Antibody treatments have been extremely effective for other diseases, says Sidhu, and the COVID-19 work underway builds on his lab鈥檚 deep research into antibody treatments on a range of diseases.
The lab鈥檚 team includes researchers with expertise in antibody treatments for SARS, and the genetic sequencing of viruses. , the team has 鈥渃reated hundreds of antibodies with therapeutic potential 鈥 some of which are in clinical development through spin-off companies and large pharmaceutical firms.鈥
Engineering antibodies are different from a vaccine, which is administered before infection, and gives rise to your own antibodies to fight off disease before it can take hold. But vaccine development is a long, complicated process and there is no guarantee of success.
Sidhu points to the HIV as a good example of that.
In contrast, he says his engineered antibody could be ready for clinical trials in two months.
Sidhu says many researchers are working on antibody treatments around the world, including some that are fast-tracking clinical trials. It鈥檚 important that Canada be part of that research, he says.
鈥淐anada should have its own antibody treatment to have a secure drug for the Canadian people.鈥
