Production of COVID-19 Antibody Concentrates Using Immunoadsorption

For more than two years the whole world is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Before introduction of vaccination strategies the administration of fresh frozen plasma from convalescent donors seemed a promising therapeutic approach, especially if administered during the early phase of disease. The outcomes in multicenter trials on huge cohorts, however, did not meet the expectations. This is one reason why German guidelines do not recommend the use of convalescent plasma. One explanation could be varying and often low concentrations of COVID-19 antibodies in a majority of plasma units at the beginning of plasma applications, which could account for the lack of a convincing clinical efficacy. Therefore, we follow a strategy to selectively collect and concentrate human immunoglobulins using immunoadsorption as the method of antibody donation.

Automated summary

Due to the unexpected outcomes in using convalescent plasma and its varying and often low concentrations of COVID-19 antibodies, German guidelines do not recommend its use. Instead, a strategy involving the selective collection and concentration of human immunoglobulins using immunoadsorption has been adopted.