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Inhaled Antibody Therapies: Enabling Prophylactic Protection against SARS-CoV-2 Infection with a Dual Targeting Powder Formulation

Seow H, Lam JK.

Respiratory Drug Delivery 2023. Volume , 2023: 3-10.

Abstract:

Antibodies have emerged as an important class of therapeutics due to their high specificity with fewer off-target effects and favorable safety profile. For the treatment of lung diseases, inhaled antibody therapies offer several advantages such as targeted delivery to the site of action, reduced systemic exposure, and non-invasive route of administration. The development of stable antibody formulations with good aerosolization properties, as well as the risk of immunogenicity, are major challenges that must be addressed before these therapies can be widely used in clinical practice. Despite these challenges, inhaled antibody therapies represent a promising approach for treating lung diseases such as respiratory viral infections, asthma, and lung cancer. Recent advances in the delivery of neutralizing antibodies against COVID-19 support the potential application of inhaled antibodies as treatment and prevention of respiratory viral infections. In this paper, we showed that the use of a nasally inhaled powder formulation of a broad-spectrum neutralizing antibody with dual deposition profile (the nasal cavity and the lung) enabled prophylactic protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in hamsters. Such an inhaled antibody therapy holds significant promise as a novel approach to combat respiratory viral infections, especially when rapid mass distribution is required during the early stage of a disease outbreak to prevent the transmission and progression of a highly contagious infectious disease.