“We did not use human stem cells or human embryonic stem cells in the development of” the monoclonal antibody cocktail, Regeneron spokesperson Alexandra Bowie said.
. Namely, the cells can be trained to produce proteins like little factories, Dr. Arnold Kriegstein, director of the stem cell program at University of California, San Francisco, said.
That’s beneficial to scientists studying Covid-19 treatments and vaccines, said Kriegstein, who is not involved with Regeneron’s research, because the cells can be taught to produce the virus’s so-called spike protein. That protein is unique to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, making it an excellent target for drugs and vaccines.works by binding to the virus’s spike protein.
“The antibodies themselves weren't made of any of these fetal cells,” Kriegstein noted. “But it was really critical to use these cells to test how effective their approach really was.”Cells from fetal tissue have been a part of medicine for decades as scientists have used them to study conditions like birth defects, Alzheimer's disease and AIDS, to name a few.
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