Great News!

RoyD

California biopharmaceutical company claims coronavirus antibody breakthrough

EXCLUSIVE — A California-based biopharmaceutical company claims to have discovered an antibody that could shield the human body from the coronavirus and flush it out of a person’s system within four days, Fox News has exclusively learned.
Later Friday, Sorrento Therapeutics will announce their discovery of the STI-1499 antibody, which the San Diego company said can provide "100% inhibition" of COVID-19, adding that a treatment could be available months before a vaccine hits the market.
"We want to emphasize there is a cure. There is a solution that works 100 percent," Dr. Henry Ji, founder and CEO of Sorrento Therapeutics, told Fox News. "If we have the neutralizing antibody in your body, you don't need the social distancing. You can open up a society without fear."
he health care and pharmaceutical industries have been scrambling to develop viable vaccines and antibody treatments as the number of COVID-19-related deaths is expected to hit 100,000 by June 1.
Many medical researchers are scrambling to find antibodies, optimistic that they could provide a remedy or preventative care in less time than it would take to develop a vaccine. Antibody treatments have been used for the past 100 years as a means to stave off infections, but their effectiveness has had mixed results. Finding a successful antibody or convalescent plasma treatment for COVID-19 could present challenges.
"Doctors are taking blood plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and infusing it into those who are critically ill. The plasma is laden with antibodies, and the approach shows some promise," former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed. "The constraint: There isn’t enough plasma from recovered patients to go around."
Some medical experts believe that while antibody research shows promise, there are concerns for how long the effects may last in fighting the virus in an infected patient.
“Antibodies, in general, have been very effective at bringing virus [levels] down if you’ve had a high burden of infection,” Phyllis Kanki, a professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a recent interview. “There are limitations to how much you can give and for how long.”
Officials for Sorrento Therapeutics believe they have found the key to a successful treatment.
Through their studies, Sorrento screened and tested billions of antibodies they have collected over the past decade. They say this made it possible to identify hundreds of potential antibody candidates that could successfully bind themselves to the spike proteins of the coronavirus. They found that a dozen of these antibodies demonstrated the ability to block the spike proteins from attaching itself to the human enzyme ACE2, which is the receptor a virus normally uses to enter human cells.
Through further testing, the researchers at Sorrento found that there was one particular antibody that showed to be 100 percent effective in blocking COVID-19 from infecting health cells — STI-1499.
"When the antibody prevents a virus from entering a human cell, the virus cannot survive," Dr. Ji said. "If they cannot get into the cell, they cannot replicate. So it means that if we prevent the virus from getting the cell, the virus eventually dies out. The body clears out that virus." "This puts its arms around the virus. It wraps around the virus and moves them out of the body."

Dr. Ji pointed out that the antibody can be used as preventative therapy since there are no side effects, and that it can be more effective than any vaccine that may be developed.
"This is the best solution," he said. "The point of making a vaccine is to generalize a neutralizing antibody. So, if you already have one, you don't need to the body to generate one from a vaccine. You've already provided it. You're cutting out the middleman."
It was recently announced Sorrento had partnered with New York-based health care system Mount Sinai to develop an antibody cocktail. Dubbed Covi-Shield, the cocktail will be comprised of three different antibodies and, pending FDA approval, will be used as a prophylactic treatment for people returning to work and those who have been exposed to COVID-19.
Sorrento officials said that STI-1499 will likely be the first antibody in the cocktail. They are also looking to develop the antibody as a stand-alone therapy due to its high potency, according to a statement provided to Fox News.
They said that they can provide up to 200,000 doses per month and are looking to produce tens of millions more to meet projected demands.
Dr. Mark Brunswick, senior vice president of Sorrento, said that developing antibody treatments may be more effective in quickly combating the coronavirus. While a vaccine treatment can take up to 18 months, effective anti-body treatment can become available in much less time and with a much higher success rate. He points out, however, that a quick approval from the Food and Drug Administration would be needed to make the antibody treatment available within months.
"As soon as it is infused, that patient is now immune to the disease," Dr. Brunswick said to Fox News. "For the length of time, the antibody is in that system. So, if we were approved [by the FDA] today, everyone who gets that antibody can go back to work and have no fear of catching COVID-19."

Sorry, I didn't get past "...Fox News has exclusively learned."

Mattoleriver:  I had a great belly laugh at that one, since I, too, have trouble getting past "Fox News reports"....
It sounds like the quickie solution the govt. is desperate to find.  Who knows...it may even be legit, but I'd like to hear that from another source.

Yeah. “Fox ‘News’ exclusively learned” is code for direct from Co-Conspirators To Re-elect President Full Diaper.

This could be wonderful news, but I too, didn't make it past "Fox News exclusive." However, I will look to see if this get play on the MSM and if the CDC weighs in.

“De aqui a lo hecho hay un buen trecho”
That product is a long, long way down the pipeline. They’re pumping up the stock so they can get some money to continue testing.
Sorrento contends it has found a particularly effective antibody after screening out billions of candidates.

"Among the antibodies showing neutralizing activity, one antibody stood out for its ability to completely block SARS-CoV-2 infection of healthy cells in the experiments," the company said in a statement.

"STI-1499 completely neutralized the virus infectivity at a very low antibody dose, making it a prime candidate for further testing and development. Initial biochemical and biophysical analyses also indicate STI-1499 is a potentially strong antibody drug candidate."

Still, Sorrento's findings are still awaiting peer review by other scientists and the research has not been tested on human beings, according to reports.

Maybe

I know this is the anti-Trump/Fox News board, but I could care less where it comes from as long as it is legit and gives hope for a way to stop this virus. It is not THERE yet, but could be available SOONER than a vaccine.

Hope is a thing we all badly need right now.

RoyD

Here you go, non-Trump sites:

https://www.orthospinenews.com/2020/05/15/california-biopharmaceutical-company-claims-coronavirus-antibody-breakthrough/

https://www.wftv.com/news/trending/california-biomedical-company-sorrento-studying-coronavirus-antibody-sti-1499-therapy/UX7IG7QJZVHP3OXKFJSPKFKR34/

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/0P3tsv3I/california-biopharmaceutical-company-claims-coronavirus-antibody-breakthrough

For them to be announcing when it hasn’t been peer reviewed means it’s nothing but hype so their stock goes up. Even if things go their way you won’t see results this year.

Jreboll is right, RoyD. And you are right too! Hope is definitely a thing we all need right now but it has to come with truth, honesty, and credibility.

We are likely going to be living like this for the remainder of this year. I know. But, you CAN be hopeful because the smartest people in the world are working on this! And they will find a cure or a vaccine or whatever, we just have to wait for them to do their jobs. Don't lose hope, it'll happen but it will take time.

In the meantime, the planet is healing.

I think it is going to be a long time for you guys, Trailrunner. Mexico does not have the resources that the U.S. or Canada has, but it will still be next year for us seniors here in the US.

The fact that this antibody has been discovered is great news. Let's pray it sails through the Phase 1, 2, & 3 trials, which takes time. This is a treatment and not a vaccine, but will protect those who get it from catching Covid. For how long, we do not know, which is what the testing is about.

Sadly, in eighteen days we were supposed to fly into Guad for a month long visit in Ajijic, but that isn't happening. Delta did not refund our canceled flight, but United gave us a voucher for that flight. I will never use Delta again.

US airlines are required to give refund upon request as they got bail out money from Fed transportation authority so tell Delta to fess up.

I already have and there giving me the run around. I bought flight insurance, so I have a claim in with AIG.

RoyD

Don't know how to quote somebody yet.
RoyD says"I think it is going to be a long time for you guys, Trailrunner. Mexico does not have the resources that the U.S. or Canada has..."

Think again! The clown is going to kill more people from his ignorance, negligence, ego and insecurity. What resources? My governor only knows how to suck up to one person. There are cases in the most expensive nursing homes 15 minutes from me. These old people didn't get treatment and not even tested to keep the numbers low as far as they can breath on their own.

I also suggest you do not fly there in September. I have canceled May, July and September tickets. Keep the Lakeside people safe please.

Sadly Quebec/Montreal was gravely effected, more specifically the homes for the elderly.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/society-failed-legault-visits-montreal-as-quebec-becomes-the-worlds-seventh-deadliest-covid-19-epicentre/ar-BB148pAK?li=AAggXBV

One of the biggest mistakes NY made was sending recovering covid19 patients to nursing homes to recover. It spread like wildfire throughout the nursing homes.

The federal government (US) sets the guidelines and the governors of the states have to take that and make the decision for the individual states. 50 governors and 50 different ways on how to enforce the guidelines. Some governors have managed it well and some have not, Republican and Democrat alike. It is not political, although some are trying to make it that way. It is a pandemic and it does not care about political leanings.