Alpacas’ ‘nano’ antibodies could lead to cheap and easy treatment

ALPACAS could hold the key to neutralising Covid-19, help suppress any second wave of coronavirus and allow countries to safely lift lockdown, researchers have claimed.

Scientists from universities in Sweden and South Africa have used “nanobodies” from an alpaca immunised against coronavirus to prevent it “binding” or infecting a person.

The tiny antibody fragment, or nanobody, targets the “spikes” of the Covid-19 virus, which “directly interferes” with its ability to infect a host.

The scientists said their research “potently neutralises the virus”, adding that because these nanobodies can be cheaply and easily reproduced they could provide a “potent and widely accessible antiviral agent”.

The nanobodies, roughly a tenth of the size of a normal antibody, are “far easier to clone, express and manipulate”.

The authors, from the department of microbiology, tumour and cell biology at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, wrote: “The current coronavirus pandemic has drastic consequences for the world’s population, and vaccines, antibodies or antivirals are urgently needed. Neutralising antibodies can block virus entry at an early step of infection and potentially protect individuals that are at high risk of developing severe disease.”

The nanobody they developed was called Ty1, named after Tyson, the 12-year-old alpaca from Germany which was immunised with the virus proteins. They then isolated the tiny antibodies that were capable of blocking the infection by Covid-19.

Gerald McInerney, Karolinska’s team leader, said: “In principle, all the evidence would suggest that it will work very well in humans, but it is a very complex system.” The academic paper, which has not been peer reviewed, was published earlier this month.