Scientists at a California biotech company claim to have found a “cure” for the coronavirus after discovering an antibody that can block “100 percent” of coronavirus infections.
Sorrento Therapeutics, based in San Diego, spoke to Fox News about its findings.
According to the company, its STI-1499 antibody stopped coronavirus from entering 100 percent of healthy human cells in petri dish experiments.
According to the report, Sorrento said it could produce up to 200,000 doses of the antibody a month – a production timeline that would likely make the drug available months sooner than a COVID-19 vaccine is expected.
“We want to emphasize there is a cure,” Sorrento’s CEO, Dr Henry Ji, told Fox.
“There is a solution that works 100 percent,” he added. “If we have the neutralizing antibody in your body, you don’t need the social distancing. You can open up a society without fear.”
Despite promising a cure, the STI-1499 antibody has only been tested in petri dishes in a lab and not on actual people, so how it might behave inside the body and its potential side effects are totally unknown.
The lab is still waiting for approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
You can read more on the experiment HERE.