A new coronavirus treatment obtained from the cow's blood will be tested on humans next month. According to NPR's latest report, cow's blood may have an important role in the development of an effective COVID-19 treatment, experts have claimed.
Scientists from SAB Biotherapeutics are currently working on a collection of different antibodies, known as polyclonal antibodies, these are developed by the human body and can ward off a specific invading organism or virus and prevent it from further speading.
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The company's polyclonal antibodies, which were previously used to treat MERS and influenza, are currently being tested against the coronavirus, using cow's blood. It was clarified that the cows involved in the clinical experiments are not just any cows. Genes from the human immune system, which makes antibodies, have been given to the animals.
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Medication was injected into the cows that will then cause them to fight off what the body detects as an infection or virus invasion. Eddie Sullivan, the CEO of SAB Biotherapeutics, said that the cows will produce specifically targeted high-neutralizing antibodies that can be used in human patients.
New COVID-19 treatment with the help of cows
Scientists theorize that the targeted neutralizing antibodies can help prevent infection or slow down an infection in someone exposed to the novel coronavirus. The scientists chose to use cows because they claim that large amounts of plasma can be extracted from them, circulating from the animals' antibodies.
"Between 30 and 45 liters of plasma every month from each animal," explained Eddie Sullivan.
The new coronavirus treatment will begin human trials starting next month. Meanwhile, according to CNN's latest report, the human trials for a COVID-19 treatment derived from the plasma of cows are expected by a South Dakota company to begin next week.
"We would hope that by the end of the summer, we might be able to be providing hundreds of thousands of doses to patients in need both for prevention and also for treatment," said the president of Regeneron, Dr. George Yancopoulos. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is another company that has started human trials with a drug derived from mice.
The report stated the cows have several advantages over human plasma donors. They have a more robust immunity than humans, making their response stronger through repeated coronavirus injections.
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