Drug should prevent infection: experts from Munich with a possible breakthrough in the corona fight

Created: 12/16/2021, 05:04 AM

From: Katharina Haase

Laboratory work at TUM.

(Symbol photo).

© Sven Hoppe / dpa

A drug that can neutralize all variants of the coronvirus?

Researchers at TUM in Garching near Munich could have succeeded in this development.

Garching near Munich

- A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is apparently very close to the breakthrough in the fight against infection with the corona virus.

As can be seen in a press release, the researchers around Prof. Dr.

med.

Ulrike Protzer has succeeded in developing a protein that reliably prevents infection by the virus and its variants in cell experiments.

Protzer, Head of the Institute for Virology at the Technical University of Munich and Director at Helmholtz Munich, provided information on the state of affairs on Tuesday, December 14th.

A drug against all Corona variants: researchers at TUM in Garching before a breakthrough

While the countermeasures used to date for infections with one of the many virus variants are mainly based on antibody therapies, the newly created active ingredient can now be used to block the spike protein of the virus.

As a result, unlike vaccines and antibody drugs, the virus cannot evade the effects of the substance with the small mutation, said Protzer.

The so-called "Immune Escape" variants prevent this.

Ulrike Protzer, Director of the Institute for Virology at TUM and Helmholtz Zentrum München, takes part in a press conference of the Bavarian university clinics.

Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa © Sven Hoppe

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Corona drug from Munich as a "miracle weapon"?

That is the state of research

In cell culture experiments with the new active ingredient from the collaboration of researchers from TUM, Helmholtz Munich, Munich Formycon AG and Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), a complete neutralization of the alpha, beta and delta variants of the virus was achieved.

Thus, an infection and the resulting Covid19 disease can be prevented.

The first tests with the Omikron variant of the corona virus have also already begun.

If the laboratory tests continue to go well, clinical studies of the drug could start as early as the first half of 2022, said Protzer.

"Even if the vaccination prevents severe disease progression very reliably, the significantly more contagious Delta and Omicron variants have shown that both those who have recovered and those who have been vaccinated can become infected again," says Protzer, summarizing the current pandemic situation.

Other, more contagious variants of the virus could possibly emerge.

Against this background, in addition to vaccination, a broadly effective active ingredient against the virus is indispensable.