Coronavirus: Research

(asked on 12th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the paper by Alisa Fox et al. titled Evidence of a significant secretory-IgA-dominant SARS-CoV-2 immune response in human milk following recovery from COVID-19, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of applying the findings of the study of antibodies in human breast milk to the treatment of covid-19.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 29th May 2020

The importance of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 is recognised in the search for effective treatments for COVID-19 infection. At present there are a range of clinical trial initiatives in the United Kingdom in which treatments are being carefully evaluated, including. Some known sources of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The REMAP-CAP clinical trial involves two sites at which plasma from patients who are convalescing after COVID-19 infection are being clinically evaluated. Plasma is collected at least 28 days after recovery so that antibody levels have increased significantly.

Other initiatives are bringing forward candidate treatments that, although promising, cannot be immediately deployed as they will require further research before they can be safely evaluated in human trials. Alternative sources of antibodies, such as the source described in this publication, may be in scope for consideration if other approaches fail.

Reticulating Splines