Tel Aviv: Is there some hope for the coronavirus-ravaged world finally? Yes, if Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett is to be believed. He said Monday that Israeli scientists have made ‘significant breakthrough’ in developing an antibody to COVID-19 infection.
Proud defence minister
“I am proud of the Biological Institute staff who have made a major breakthrough,” Bennett said in a statement widely reported by the Israeli media Tuesday. Bennett added that the antibody or passive vaccine attacks the virus and neutralises it in the body.
“The Jewish creativity and ingenuity brought about this amazing achievement,” Bennett also said in the statement.
Prior to releasing the news, Bennett had visited the labs of the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR). This organisation is not much heard about as it works in complete secrecy. It reports directly to the country’s prime minister’s office. The scientists told Bennett that the development phase of the vaccine has been completed.
New antibody developed
IIBR director Shmuel Shapira said Tuesday that the antibody formula will be patented. Then an international manufacturer would be assigned to produce the vaccine in bilk.
The IIBR has been leading Israeli efforts to develop a treatment and vaccine for the coronavirus. Clinical plasma therapy trials have also been carried out by IIBR.
Antibodies in such samples – immune -system proteins that are residues of successfully overcoming the coronavirus – are widely seen as a key to developing a possible cure.
Another new development
A second Israeli research team, ‘MigVax’, has also reported that it is close to completing the first phase of development of a coronavirus vaccine. Last week, it secured a US $12 million investment to accelerate the path to clinical trials.
Israel was one of the first countries to close its borders. It then imposed increasingly stringent restrictions on movement to flatten the curve. Israel so far has reported 16,246 cases and 235 deaths.
Agencies
Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), Vaccine, Coronavirus, Naftali Bennett, Plasma therapy, Antibody