A cellular-based surrogate assay for the identification of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and the screening of receptor-binding inhibitors

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 epidemic makes it painfully clear that our current options for treating life-threatening zoonotic coronavirus infections are limited. Thus, we aim to contribute by implementing a state-of-the-art assay with two aspects: (i) the identification of individuals who have mounted an immune response against the virus is important, e.g. to determine which healthcare workers could care for COVID19 patients with a minimal risk, and for essential public health decisions; (ii) there remains an urgent need to develop antiviral therapeutics, and because this is a time-consuming process, drug repositioning may be a critical solution. Therefore, we will develop a cell-based laboratory test to simulate SARS-CoV-2 binding to its receptor, without having to work with the infectious virus in high-level biosafety labs. We expect this tool to be instrumental in accelerating the availability of reliable serological neutralization assays and the repositioning of available drugs against SARSCoV-2