A group of ten scientists at Erasmus MC and Utrecht University claim to have discovered an antibody against COVID-19. This antibody has not as yet been tested on humans- and this process could take months.

Dutch scientists from Erasmus MC have claimed to have found the antibody against coronavirus. Potentially a huge discovery, but development of anything useful would take months (link in Dutch, we'll get an English version up in a bit) #COVID2019NLhttps://t.co/MsZmj4lmG1 — DutchReview (@Dutchreviewing) March 14, 2020

An antibody is a protein that essentially helps the immune system detect and naturalise foreign substances, which helps the body take action to combat it.

The findings have already been published this Thursday on BioRxiv, where biologists can publish their research and colleagues can react. These results may also be published by Nature, a leading journal after the paper has been assessed.

Although the antibody could take months to be tested on humans, a professor told RTLNieuws that it is the first to block the virus and has a good chance of reaching the market.

More information about COVID-19 in the Netherlands

For more information, be sure to check out our guide to coronavirus in the Netherlands to stay up-to-date with the most recent information. You can also watch our video, where we touch upon questions like how did coronavirus come to the Netherlands? What can you do against it in daily life? Is the Netherlands properly prepared for a COVID-19 pandemic? Ad