UNL FACILITY MAKES PROTEIN THAT COULD BE USED TO TREAT SEVERE CASES OF COVID-19

LINCOLN - Officials with a University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering facility were working with a company to develop a recombinant protein for another use when the coronavirus struck. The company, which is involved in drug discovery, determined the protein could be used to treat the effects of the coronavirus, said Dennis Hensen, project manager with the Biological Process Development Facility.

The protein would not be a cure but could provide an option for people with advanced cases of COVID-19 to either prevent the need for or reduce time on a ventilator, said Scott Johnson, the facility’s production manager.

The next step for the company will be to conduct safety testing in animals. That testing must be completed before the firm could seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials in people.

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