COVID-19 Defence May Soon Have a New Weapon In Our Collective Arsenal

Just how much of a threat remains from COVID-19? This year, 2022, has proven to be a record for infections from COVID-19 Omicron and its sub-variants. Omicron represents almost all new cases of the virus which the World Health Organization still considers to be a global pandemic. Two-hundred-and-twenty-eight countries have reported more than 663 million cases (a considerable undercount since many jurisdictions have stopped counting). And almost 6.7 million (again an undercount) have died because of the virus.

The arrival of mRNA vaccines and their dissemination has been able to stem the death rate. But with no herd immunity established in any country on the planet, and with people continuing to travel, the virus continues to incubate in billions of potential hosts.

The jabs we receive have reduced hospitalizations and deaths but have proven to be limited in terms of giving us permanent immunity. At best, the latest Omicron vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer protect us for about three months. That doesn’t mean we can’t catch it. It just means that when we get it the symptoms will likely not put us in the hospital. And because we have not stopped Omicron it continues to spread among the under-immunized and those who have not been vaccinated.

What’s Needed is a New Approach

A recent paper appearing in Science Advances published on December 7, 2022, describes a new approach to tackling COVID-19. A new drug in animal trials has shown effectiveness in stopping the spread of coronaviruses and all variants. It is the way this drug works that gives it a unique advantage not just to stop present Omicron and other COVID-19 versions but all future evolutions of the virus and other coronaviruses.

Why the confidence in this drug? Rather than synthesize antibodies to fight COVID-19 and create vaccines that deliver them to tag the virus (the mRNA approach), the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has created a molecule that is an ACE2 receptor decoy.

What’s so important about ACE2 Receptors?

ACE2 receptors can be found on the surface of human and animal cells. They are one of many types of receptors that act as gateways for stuff to get in and out of cells. Concerning COVID-19, they have proven to be the way for the virus to gain entry. That’s because the spike protein seeks out ACE2 receptors and clamps on to them using them to penetrate the cell surface.

The Dana-Farber-created ACE2 decoy acts just like the real receptor and the virus’ spike protein attaches to it. But instead of penetrating a cell, the decoy causes the protein to deform to make it no longer capable of penetrating a cell. The deception, therefore, stops the virus from using cell machinery to reproduce.

The drug has been named by its developers, DF-COV-01. It not only works with COVID-19 but also will likely be effective in dealing with other coronaviruses that can threaten our health in the present and future. Animal studies show significant reductions in disease severity and viral loads. If successful in humans the ACE2 decoy molecule’s ability to trigger an irreversible structural change to the spike protein will prove to be a game-changer.