Cows could help in the fight against coronavirus, researchers say. Here’s how
Hundreds of cows in South Dakota have been genetically engineered to have human-like immune systems with the power to produce antibodies capable of fighting SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus driving the pandemic.
Preliminary studies have shown that the cow’s antibodies are four times stronger than those produced by recovered COVID-19 patients, and could possibly remain effective against future mutations, according to a statement released last month.
Now, the Sioux Falls biotech company — SAB Biotherapeutics — behind the potential treatment says they plan on beginning human trials this summer to test if the special antibodies can prevent and treat COVID-19.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh conducted the studies on the treatment, titled SAB-185, which have not been published or peer-reviewed, according to CNN.
“Consistent with data across SAB’s platform in other indications, these data suggest that our potential COVID-19 therapeutic may remain effective even as SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve,” President, CEO and co-founder of SAB Eddie Sullivan said in the statement.
“These data give us great confidence as we begin manufacturing clinical product and prepare to move forward in the regulatory pathway to provide a potential solution to combat COVID-19.”
To make the drug, the company inserted human DNA into cow cells, enabling the animal to produce human antibodies.
Then, the scientists injected them with the proteins that allow the coronavirus to enter human cells, the statement said.
The cows produced “fully human polyclonal antibodies,” which can recognize several parts of the virus, rather than just one section like most antibodies — making the cow’s antibodies more powerful and effective against mutation, according to Science Magazine.
“That’s the natural way that our bodies fight disease,” Sullivan told the magazine.
The preliminary results proved “promising,” the researchers said.
The cow antibodies are four times more potent than those coming from human convalescent plasma, which is the blood from people who have recovered from COVID-19 that can be given to patients with severe infections to boost their recovery.
And each month, one cow can produce enough antibodies to treat several hundred patients, Sullivan told Science.
Because cows are so large, they have more plasma to create antibodies and they have “a more robust immune system than humans,” Sullivan told CNN. They can give their plasma three times a month, while humans can only donate once a month, he said.
The American Red Cross recommends people donate plasma every 28 days because it “can have a profound impact.”
Cows’ blood also contains twice as many antibodies per milliliter as human blood, Sullivan told Science.
The company did not announce how many people are expected to participate, or how long the trials will take.
“This is promising,” Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told Science. “We want to have as many countermeasures as we can.”
Many coronavirus vaccine trials are also underway, according to a New York Times tracker.
As of Thursday, there are more than 125 vaccines in preclinical trials, meaning they are not being tested in humans yet.
Other vaccines have entered human trials. Eight are in Phase 1, another eight are in Phase 2 and two are in Phase 3, according to The Times.
No vaccines have been approved for use to date. The federal government’s goal is to have “300 million doses of a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021.”
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Cows could help in the fight against coronavirus, researchers say. Here’s how."
