SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies for COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment

• Published in: Annual review of medicine Vol. 73; no. 1; pp. 1 - 16
• Main Authors: Li, Dapeng, Sempowski, Gregory D, Saunders, Kevin O, Acharya, Priyamvada, Haynes, Barton F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Annual Reviews 27.01.2022; Annual Reviews, Inc
• Subjects: Antibodies; Antibodies, Monoclonal - therapeutic use; Antibodies, Neutralizing; antibody-dependent enhancement; Clinical trials; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Epitopes; escaping variants; Humans; Immunotherapy; neutralizing antibodies; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; Spike protein; COVID-19; neutralizing antibodies; SARS-CoV-2; escaping variants; antibody-dependent enhancement
• ISSN: 0066-4219; 1545-326X
• DOI: 10.1146/annurev-med-042420-113838

Prophylactic and therapeutic drugs are urgently needed to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Over the past year, SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies have been developed for preventive or therapeutic uses. While neutralizing antibodies target the spike protein, their neutralization potency and breadth vary according to recognition epitopes. Several potent SARS-CoV-2 antibodies have shown degrees of success in preclinical or clinical trials, and the US Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency use authorization for two neutralizing antibody cocktails.Nevertheless, antibody therapy for SARS-CoV-2 still faces potential challenges, including emerging viral variants of concern that have antibody-escape mutations and the potential for antibody-mediated enhancement of infection or inflammation. This review summarizes representative SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies that have been reported and discusses prospects and challenges for the development of the next generation of COVID-19 preventive or therapeutic antibodies.