SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Animals

COVID-19

MSI PIs were among the researchers who have developed a possible drug that can both prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals. The drug comes from a nanobody - a tiny antibody - found in llamas. It is cost-effective to manufacture, and it could possibly be used in humans, as well. The researchers have published their findings in the journal eLife: The Development of Nanosota-1 as Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Nanobody Drug Candidates.

A story about this research appears on the U of M News site: Learning From Llamas, U of M Scientists Develop a Candidate COVID-19 Drug.

Associate Professor Fang Li (Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences ) was the lead researcher on the paper. Professor Li uses MSI resources as part of studies into the structural and molecular basis of human diseases. Associate Professor Hideki Aihara (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics) uses MSI resources for structural studies of DNA-processing enzymes. Paper co-author Aaron LeBeau was an MSI PI while he was an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the U of M; he is now at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.