First-in-class trispecific VHH-Fc based antibody with potent prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and variants

© 2022. The Author(s)..

SARS-CoV-2 and its variants have persisted in this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While the vaccines have greatly reduced the COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and death, about half of the world remain unvaccinated due to various reasons. Furthermore, the duration of the immunity gained from COVID-19 vaccination is still unclear. Therefore, there is a need for innovative prophylactic and treatment measures. In response to this need, we previously reported on the successful computer-aided development of potent VHH-based multispecific antibodies that were characterized in vitro. Here, we evaluated in vivo efficacy and safety of the lead trispecific VHH-Fc, ABS-VIR-001. Importantly, our data showed that ABS-VIR-001 treatment prevented SARS-CoV-2 infection and death when provided as an intranasal prophylaxis in a humanized ACE-2 mouse model. In addition, ABS-VIR-001 post-exposure treatment was shown to greatly reduce viral loads by as much as 50-fold. A detailed panel of metabolic and cellular parameters demonstrated that ABS-VIR-001 treatment was overall comparable to the PBS treatment, indicating a favorable safety profile. Notably, our inhibition studies show that ABS-VIR-001 continued to demonstrate unwavering efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 mutants, associated with key variants including Delta and Omicron, owing to its multiple epitope design. Lastly, we rigorously tested and confirmed the excellent thermostability of ABS-VIR-001 when heated to 45 °C for up to 4 weeks. Taken together, our study suggests that ABS-VIR-001 is an efficacious and durable prophylaxis and post-exposure treatment for COVID-19 with promising safety and manufacturability features for global distribution.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2022

Erschienen:

2022

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:12

Enthalten in:

Scientific reports - 12(2022), 1 vom: 09. März, Seite 4163

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Titong, Allison [VerfasserIn]
Gallolu Kankanamalage, Sachith [VerfasserIn]
Dong, Jianbo [VerfasserIn]
Huang, Betty [VerfasserIn]
Spadoni, Nicholas [VerfasserIn]
Wang, Bo [VerfasserIn]
Wright, Meredith [VerfasserIn]
Pham, Keegan L J [VerfasserIn]
Le, Anh Hai [VerfasserIn]
Liu, Yue [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

ACE2 protein, human
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
Biomarkers
EC 3.4.17.23
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Single-Domain Antibodies
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
Spike protein, SARS-CoV-2

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 17.03.2022

Date Revised 07.12.2022

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1038/s41598-022-07952-4

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM337955530