LONDON: Scientists from the UK and Sweden are reportedly close to a breakthrough on an antibody treatment for COVID-19 that could be lifesaving for those who become infected by the virus.
British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is developing the treatment, which may initially be prioritized for elderly and vulnerable patients due to cost.
Antibody injections instantly arm the body with the ability to neutralize the virus, and the treatment could be a game-changer for those in the early stages of infection.
Pascal Soriot, AstraZaneca’s chief executive, said the treatment being developed is a “combination of two antibodies, because by having both you reduce the chance of resistance developing to one antibody.”
Antibody therapy is more expensive than vaccine production, however, with Soriot saying the former would be prioritized for the elderly and vulnerable, “who may not be able to develop a good response to a vaccine.”
The treatment is now being tested at “full speed,” and executives are hopeful that it will go into full production next year.
Antibody treatment can be used for similar purposes as a vaccine, which normally sparks a bodily reaction to create its own antibodies.
Over 200 teams worldwide are racing to be the first to develop a vaccine, with scientists from Oxford University in the UK among the frontrunners.
The Oxford University team is working in partnership with AstraZeneca and conducting human trials in Brazil, the current epicenter of the pandemic. They expect to know by August if the vaccine works.
They have already begun manufacturing the vaccine to ensure rapid rollout should it be effective, and have agreed to supply 2 billion doses worldwide by the end of the year.
On Thursday, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates struck a deal with the Oxford-AstraZeneca team to supply half the planned doses to low- and middle-income countries.
European scientists close to coronavirus antibody breakthrough
https://arab.news/w63xz
European scientists close to coronavirus antibody breakthrough
- British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is developing the treatment
- Antibody injections instantly arm the body with the ability to neutralize the virus
Bangladesh summons Myanmar envoy after border clashes
- A dozen villages in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district have been affected by the violence
DHAKA: Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned the ambassador of Myanmar after civil war gun battles in the neighboring country spilled over the border, wounding a Bangladeshi girl.
Heavy fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state this month has involved junta soldiers, Arakan Army fighters and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militia guerrillas.
Authorities said around a dozen villages in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district have been affected by the violence.
Twelve-year-old Huzaifa Afnan was struck by a bullet, while a Bangladeshi fisherman had his leg ripped off after stepping on a landmine near the frontier.
“Bangladesh reminded that the unprovoked firing towards Bangladesh is a blatant violation of international law and a hindrance to good neighborly relations,” a Foreign Ministry press statement said.
Myanmar’s ambassador to Bangladesh, U Kyaw Soe Moe, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, where he expressed sincere sympathy to the injured victims and their families.
“My daughter was supposed to go to school, but she is on a ventilator,” Afnan’s father Jasim Uddin said. “My heart is bleeding for my baby girl.”
More than a million Rohingya have fled their homes in Myanmar, many after a 2017 military crackdown, and now eke out a living in sprawling refugee camps just across the border in Bangladesh.
ARSA, a Rohingya armed group formed to defend the persecuted Muslim minority, has been fighting the Myanmar military, as well as rival Arakan Army guerrillas.
On Monday, Bangladeshi border forces detained 53 ARSA fighters who had crossed the frontier.
Bangladeshi police officer Saiful Islam, commander of the local Teknaf station, said all detainees were being held in jail, except one fighter who was receiving hospital treatment for bullet wounds.
“These individuals have a history of living in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and crossing into Myanmar,” Islam told AFP.
