June 4, 2021

Nasal Delivery of an IgM Offers Broad Protection from SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

Keywords (Tags): treatment

• A novel, engineered immunoglobulin M (IgM) intranasally delivered neutralizing antibody demonstrated superior neutralizing activity against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants in mice, including B.1.1.7 (Delta), P.1 (Gamma), and B.1.351 (Beta). The IgM antibody therapy was >230-fold more potent in reducing SARS-CoV-2 lung viral load than IgG neutralizing antibodies currently in use, to which variants of concern are increasingly resistant. Additionally, the IgM antibodies demonstrated favorable pharmacokinetics and safety in mice. The authors conclude that results may suggest that IgM may be an effective therapeutic for SARS-CoV-2 infection and could potentially be engineered for other respiratory pathogens.

Ku et al. (June 3, 2021). Nasal Delivery of an IgM Offers Broad Protection from SARS-CoV-2 Variants. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03673-2