Powerful Abs — In the world of infectious diseases, “Abs,” or antibodies are critical to developing effective treatments. In a paper published in the August 6, 2013 online issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, a research team led by Dr. Bettina Fries has shown that antibodies that they generated successfully neutralized both a major virulent infection known as Staphylococcal enterotoxin B and a class 2 biological warfare agent. Additionally, the researchers were able to establish that these monoclonal antibodies could be used as an adjunctive (or secondary) therapy in complicated cases of MRSA infection – a major, deadly pathogen. In addition to NIH support for their work, this research represents a collaboration by Dr. Fries with Pfizer, through its prestigious Centers for Therapeutic Innovations award, which she received in 2011. The Pfizer funding supported Drs. Avanish Varshney and Xiaobo Wang, postdoctoral fellows who contributed to the discoveries. In addition, Pfizer will adapt the Ab generated by Dr. Fries’ team for use in humans and will publish the related data. Dr. Fries is professor of medicine and of microbiology & immunology.
Posted on: Wednesday, August 07, 2013