Dutch blood bank's Covid medicine could be ready by October

Dutch blood bank Sanquin hopes that the medicine against the coronavirus it is developing will be available for target groups in the short term. If a clinical trail in October confirms its effectiveness, healthcare providers can start using the medicine to protect vulnerable groups against the virus, ANP reports.

Last month the blood bank called on recovered Covid-19 patients to donate plasma. The antibodies from this plasma are put into ampoules, that can be administered as a preventative, or immediately after someone is infected with the coronavirus.
The antibodies then help the person fight off the virus.

"Since March we have laid a solid foundation with our research into antibodies," Sanquin director Daphne Thijssen told the news agency. "In the research we looked at how they work, the development of a reliable antibody test and how many donors have those antibodies."

Thus far Sanquin has collected 3 thousand kilograms of plasma with Covid-19 antibodies for use in the project.