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Coronavirus Breakthrough? Possible Antibody Cocktail May Lead To COVID-19 Cure, Doctor Says

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - There could be a huge breakthrough on finding a possible treatment to help fight the coronavirus.

Dr. Max Gomez reports on an antibody cocktail that's being created.

This potential treatment breakthrough is based on antibodies, Gomez reported. Doctors have known that most COVID-19 patients develop antibodies against the coronavirus that causes the disease.

The question has been whether or not those antibodies are what are called "neutralizing": Do they block the virus from infecting cells?

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Now, San Diego-based Sorrento Therapeutic has announced that it has found an antibody in its vast library of stored antibodies that appears to do just that.

Sorrento CEO Dr. Henry Ji says its antibody, STI-1499, has provided 100% inhibition of the SARS-COV-2 virus in pre-clinical tests. Dr. Ji went so far as to call it a cure.

In order to broaden the potential effectiveness of this type of treatment, Sorrento has proposed a cocktail of three antibodies against COVID-19, attacking the virus at different weak points. To further that approach, Sorrento is partnering with Mount Sinai in New York to gain access to its more than 15,000 antibodies extracted from COVID patients.

CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ COVID-19 Info Hub | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

If Sorrento gets FDA approval for STI-1499, it says it can produce 200,000 doses a month, and will work to manufacture millions at risk, awaiting FDA approval.

We won't know for sure until clinical trials prove this, which may not take long, but this could be the breakthrough we've been waiting for, Gomez reported.

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