Development of a hyperimmune equine serum therapy for COVID-19 in Argentina

ZYLBERMAN, VANESA ; SANGUINETI, SANTIAGO ; PONTORIERO, ANDREA V. ; HIGA, SANDRA V. ; CERUTTI, MARÍA LAURA; MORRONE SEIJO, SUSANA M. ; PARDO, ROMINA; MUÑOZ, LUCIANA ; ACUÑA INTRIERI, MARÍA EUGENIA; ALZOGARAY, VANINA A. ; AVARO, MARTÍN M.; BENEDETTI, ESTEFANÍA ; BERGUER, PAULA M. ; BOCANERA, LAURA ; BUKATA, LUCAS ; BUSTELO, MARINA S. ; CAMPOS, ANA M. ; COLONNA, MARIANA ; CORREA, ELISA ; CRAGNAZ, LUCÍA; DATTERO, MARÍA E. ; DELLAFIORE, MARÍA ; FOSCALDI, SABRINA; GONZÁLEZ, JOAQUÍN V.; GUERRA, LUCIANO L. ; KLINKE, SEBASTIÁN; LABANDA, MARÍA S.; LAUCHÉ, CONSTANZA; LÓPEZ, JUAN C.; MARTÍNEZ, ANABELA M. ; OTERO, LISANDRO H.; PEYRIC, ELÍAS H.; PONZIANI, PABLO F. ; RAMONDINO, ROMINA ; RINALDI, JIMENA; RODRÍGUEZ, SANTIAGO; RUSSO, JAVIER E.; RUSSO, MARA L. ; SAAVEDRA, SOLEDAD L. ; SEIGELCHIFER, MAURICIO; SOSA, SANTIAGO; VILARIÑO, CLAUDIO ; LÓPEZ BISCAYART, PATRICIA; CORLEY, ESTEBAN; SPATZ, LINUS; BAUMEISTER, ELSA G.; GOLDBAUM, FERNANDO A.

MEDICINA (BUENOS AIRES)

MEDICINA (BUENOS AIRES)

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2020 vol. 80 p. 1 - 6

0025-7680

The disease namedCOVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, is currentlygenerating a global pandemic.Vaccine development is no doubt the best long-term immunologicalapproach, but in the currentepidemiologic and health emergency there is a need for rapid andeffective solutions. Convalescent plasma is the only antibody-basedtherapy available for COVID-19 patients to date. Equine polyclonalantibodies (EpAbs) put forward a sound alternative. The newgeneration of processed and purified EpAbs containing highly purifiedF(ab?)2 fragments demonstrated to be safe and well tolerated. EpAbsare easy to manufacture allowing a fast development and scaling upfor a treatment. Based on these ideas, we present a new therapeuticproduct obtained after immunization of horses with thereceptor-binding domain of the viral Spike glycoprotein. Our productshows around 50 times more potency in in vitro seroneutralizationassays than the average of convalescent plasma. This resultmay allow us to test the safety and efficacy of this product in aphase 2/3 clinical trial to be conducted in July 2020 in themetropolitan area of Buenos Aires, Argentina.