Israel’s Biological Institute completes development phase of COVID-19 antibody

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)