CoV-2 specific serological diagnostics based on epitopes (EpiCoV2020)

The challenge for immune diagnostics dealing with Corona viruses like SARS-CoV-2 is the high background of infections with many different types from this subfamily of Orthocoronavirinae. This project aims at rapidly identifying individual peptide epitopes, both specific and unspecific, and mimotopes with improved affinities for serum antibodies from different patients. We are using resources readily set up for projects similar by the immunological and diagnostic challenge as well as readily available sera from a clinical partner. The project's goal is not only to identify a pool of such epitope/mimotope sequences with a proprietary statistical phage display method, NGS and a specially developed software, but also to rapidly validate them in arrays and in a second step in simple PoC devices to identify those suitable for diagnostic tools. They will differentiate between SARS-CoV-2 and other Corona virus infections, even if the antibody titers are decreasing after the infection. Peptide diagnostics can be reproducibly produced by any peptide manufacturer around the globe. This would contribute to worldwide standards in COVID-19 diagnosis and identification of persons with acquired immunity against the virus. In a more advanced setting differential epitope diagnostics will allow to correlate B-cell response with disease progression in a heterogenous background of recent Corona infections. Cytokine storm monitoring in some patients as well as vaccine development will require these tools. We expect first useful results already about 8 weeks after starting the project.