Development of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, using a high-throughput single-B-cell cloning method

Rapid and efficient strategies are needed to discover neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) from B cells derived from virus-infected patients.Here, we report a high-throughput single-B-cell cloning method for high-throughput isolation of nAbs targeting diverse epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2-RBD (receptor binding domain) from convalescent COVID-19 patients. This method is simple, fast and highly efficient in generating SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies from COVID-19 patients' B cells.Using this method, we have developed multiple nAbs against distinct SARS-CoV-2-RBD epitopes. CryoEM and crystallography revealed precisely how they bind RBD. In live virus assay, these nAbs are effective in blocking viral entry to the host cells.This simple and efficient method may be useful in developing human therapeutic antibodies for other diseases and next pandemic.