Project description DEENESFRITPL Therapeutic antibodies against the new coronavirus For any viral disease, vaccination is the only solution for robust and long-term effective protection, and vaccines generally take time to be developed. However, the rapid spread of the current COVID-19 pandemic necessitates immediate treatment solutions. The scope of the EU-funded CoroNAb project is to identify candidate antibodies with neutralising activity against 2019-nCoV and passively infuse them in patients to control infection. Researchers will design and synthesise recombinant variants of various coronavirus glycoproteins and use them to immunise experimental animals to generate antibodies against the virus. The data on anti-viral efficacy of these antibodies will be fed into computational models to forecast their intervention outcome. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Overview:As of Feb 12th, 2020, the death toll of the 2019-nCoV (COVID-19) epidemic has surpassed 1000, rapidly eclipsing the total mortality of SARS. It has a current death rate estimate of around 2 deaths per 100 confirmed infections, is experiencing phenomenal growth in mainland China, and has the potential to spread globally over the coming months. While a vaccine may be useful for future epidemics of a similar virus, it is not clear that such a vaccine can be produced at a speed and scale sufficient to impact the current epidemic.Objective:Antibodies form the basis of a robust adaptive immune response to viral disease. Nearly all licensed vaccines mediate protection through the activity of antibodies and where vaccines are not available, passive infusion of monoclonal antibodies can fill the gap and control the infection. The overarching goal of the CoroNAb consortium is to rapidly identify, validate, and disseminate pre-clinical protein therapeutic candidates with neutralizing activity against 2019-nCoV, and to recommend where their use would be maximally effective.Expected results:Over the course of the project, we expect to design and synthesize recombinant variants of nCoV glycoproteins for immunization in mice, alpacas and macaques in order to generate and characterize multiple nCoV-neutralizing antibodies and nanobodies. We will develop efficient assays for the testing of such antibodies and exploit novel computational workflows to improve neutralizing antibody potency. Finally, we will employ mathematical modeling of the 2019-nCoV epidemic for forecasting intervention effectiveness.Timeline:We expect the project to deliver a number of nCoV neutralizing anti- and nanobodies of increasing potency over a 2 year period from start date. Fields of science medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusescoronaviruses Keywords Monoclonal antibodies camelid nanobodies protein biologics coronavirus Programme(s) H2020-EU.3.1. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Health, demographic change and well-being Main Programme H2020-EU.3.1.3. - Treating and managing disease Topic(s) SC1-PHE-CORONAVIRUS-2020 - Advancing knowledge for the clinical and public health response to the 2019-nCoV epidemic Call for proposal H2020-SC1-PHE-CORONAVIRUS-2020 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme RIA - Research and Innovation action Coordinator KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET Net EU contribution € 1 816 858,75 Address Nobels Vag 5 17177 Stockholm Sweden See on map Region Östra Sverige Stockholm Stockholms län Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 816 858,75 Participants (3) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH Switzerland Net EU contribution € 500 000,00 Address Raemistrasse 101 8092 Zuerich See on map Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 500 000,00 STATENS SERUM INSTITUT Denmark Net EU contribution € 218 147,50 Address ARTILLERIVEJ 5 2300 Kobenhavn S See on map Region Danmark Hovedstaden Byen København Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 218 147,50 IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 236 651,25 Address SOUTH KENSINGTON CAMPUS EXHIBITION ROAD SW7 2AZ LONDON See on map Region London Inner London — West Westminster Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 236 651,25
