A medical technologist tests a respiratory panel at Northwell Health Labs, where the same test will be used on the COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, after being authorized to begin semi-automated testing by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Lake Success, New York, U.S., March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Tel Aviv [Israel ], May 5 (ANI): Israel i Defence Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday said he witnessed a “significant breakthrough” by the country’s biological research institute in developing an antibody to COVID-19 infection.
Bennett visited the labs of the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), a secretive unit that works under the Prime Minister’s Office, in Ness Ziona and was briefed by the research team, who revealed that the development phase of COVID-19 antibody or passive vaccine that attacks the virus and neutralizes it in the body has been complete, his office said in a statement cited by The Jerusalem Post.
IIBR is now working to patent its antibody and secure a contract for its commercial development. All legal procedures will be coordinated with the Defence Ministry. “I am proud of the Biological Institute staff, who have made a major breakthrough,” Bennett was quoted as saying.
“The Jewish creativity and ingenuity brought about this amazing achievement,” he added. Last month, IIBR announced that it had begun testing its antibody -based vaccine prototype on rodents. IIBR is also involved in plasma collection from people who have recovered from infection with the new coronavirus , in the hope that this might help research, the Post reported further.
A second Israel i 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 USD 12 million investment from OurCrowd to accelerate the path to clinical trials. (ANI)
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