antibodies

New research is showing promising preclinical signs for an experimental mRNA vaccine targeting HIV. The vaccine was found to generate robust responses in mice and primates but still needs more optimization before moving to preliminary human trials.

The FDA has authorized the first COVID-19 drug designed to prevent infection in immunocompromised populations. The monoclonal antibody treatment is delivered by intramuscular injection and offers robust protection from infection for up to six months.

The immune system is a powerful weapon, but sometimes it can attack things that are trying to help us. A new preclinical treatment could one day help, using a kind of “reverse vaccine” to train the immune system to ignore specific drugs or molecules.

A new monoclonal antibody treatment has been found to protect chronically ill adults from developing COVID-19. The Phase 3 trial results suggest the novel antibody cocktail, delivered by intramuscular injection, could offer up to 12 months protection.

Contraceptives like the pill may be effective, but messing with hormones has a range of unpleasant side effects. Now researchers are experimenting with a new non-hormonal contraceptive based on antibodies, which stops sperm swimming through mucus.

A clinical trial run by the NIH exploring the efficacy of convalescent plasma in treating mild to moderate COVID-19 patients has been halted. In a similar conclusion to prior trials, the once-promising treatment was deemed unlikely to be of any benefit.

Promising interim data testing the efficacy of a monoclonal antibody cocktail developed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection has been announced, but there are concerns the prohibitive cost of producing the therapy will limit widespread use.

Eli Lilly has announced its antibody treatment can reduce a person’s risk of contracting COVID-19 by up to 80 percent. These preliminary results suggest the treatment may be an effective way to rapidly suppress outbreaks in unvaccinated communities.

Early findings from a clinical trial suggest severely ill COVID-19 patients do not benefit from a therapy involving infusions of plasma from those recovered from the disease. The trial continues to investigate the therapy in moderately ill patients.

New research has shown how immune cells produced in the gut play a protective role during MS flare-ups. For the first time scientists have shown how these immune cells travel up to the brain and potentially help shift a disease flare-up into remission.

The FDA has just approved the first coronavirus-specific antibody treatment for moderate cases of COVID-19. The focused Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is aimed at newly diagnosed infections at the highest risk of progressing to severe disease.

A new study, published in the journal Nature, is describing the surprising discovery of a previously unknown gut-brain link. The research reveals certain immune cells that inhabit a protective membrane surrounding the brain actually originate in the gut.