CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Monoclonal antibodies was a medical term many became familiar with when they were successfully used to treat early variants of COVID, and now University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have developed one to stop sepsis, an often deadly full-body infection. UVA and University of Michigan researchers say this antibody also has the potential to treat a wide array of other inflammatory conditions, including autoimmune disorders.

A UVA Health release says: In initial testing in lab mice, the antibody proved versatile and showed “transformative potential for combatting life-threatening inflammatory diseases,” the researchers report in a new scientific paper. Potential applications could include deadly acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which rose to public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as ischemia-reperfusion injury, which is tissue damage caused when blood flow is cut off and restored. (Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a major problem for organ transplantation.)

The researchers say their work has also shed light on the molecular causes of sepsis and has the potential to produce an important tool for diagnosing the condition and monitoring patients.

“This is the kind of breakthrough that can change the standard of care,” said Jianjie Ma, PhD, of UVA’s Department of Surgery and UVA Cancer Center. “By combining complementary expertise in basic science, innovation and translational medicine, and by working closely with our industry partners, we’ve developed a first-in-class antibody with the potential to save countless lives from sepsis and other severe inflammatory diseases.”

Sepsis strikes up to 50 million people worldwide every year, killing approximately 11 million. It is a leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals, and the risk of death increases every hour it goes untreated. It is caused when the body’s immune response spirals out of control in response to an infection, potentially leading to organ failure and death. Even with aggressive treatment, up to 40% of patients who reach the most severe stage of sepsis still die.

The researchers have received $800,000 from Virginia Catalyst to launch a clinical trial of the antibody at UVA Health and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Click here for the full UVA Health release.