Llama ‘Nanobodies’ May Yield COVID-19 Treatment, Pitt Scientists Say
Could Wally the llama hold the key to COVID-19? The immune system of the black-coated animal, who lives on a farm in Massachusetts, was coaxed into producing “nanobodies” — smaller cousins of antibodies — that neutralized the coronavirus in laboratory experiments, University of Pittsburgh scientists reported Thursday, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report.
The potent proteins still are being tested in other animals to gauge their ability to ward off COVID-19, and the Pitt research team had no firm time frame on when they might be tested in humans.
