Inhalable nanobody cocktails to neutralize COVID-19
Development of multivalent, ultrapotent nanobody cocktails for SARS-CoV-2 neutralization
This project is creating tiny, stable antibody fragments that can be inhaled to quickly neutralize SARS-CoV-2 for people with COVID-19 or recent exposure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11258960 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers are making small, highly stable nanobodies (camelid VHH fragments) that can be produced quickly and cheaply in microbes. They combine multiple nanobodies that bind different parts of the virus into multivalent cocktails to increase potency and resistance to variants. The team is engineering these constructs for inhaled delivery and has shown very strong results in lab tests and animal models with an inhalable trimeric candidate (PiN-21). The goal is to refine these ultrapotent inhalable therapies and move them toward testing in people.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be people with recent or early SARS-CoV-2 infection or those at high risk of exposure who might receive an inhaled antiviral.
Not a fit: Patients with late-stage, severe COVID-19 requiring intensive hospital care or people with known severe allergies to biologic therapies may not benefit from an inhaled nanobody treatment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could become a low-cost, inhaled antiviral that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs and reduces the risk of progression to severe COVID-19.
How similar studies have performed: Related nanobody approaches have shown exceptional potency in laboratory and animal studies, including an inhaled trimeric construct that protected animals, but human clinical data are not yet available.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shi, Yi — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Shi, Yi
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.