Dr. Mehdi Bouhaddou featured in Mount Sinai Press

According to the collaborative research, viral proteins found in all SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron, apart from the Spike protein, are responsible for suppressing the innate immune system and evading human immune system barriers. The identification of a common evolutionary pattern offers a crucial biological objective against future COVID-19 variants and other pandemics.

Dr. Bouhaddou commented, “Similar to treatment regimens for HIV, we believe the future approach to managing pandemics will require a drug combination cocktail. Here, this could include a combination of vaccines and antiviral innovations to target the virus. Specifically, combination therapy approaches to target the adaptive immune response (e.g., vaccines, antibody treatments) and another inhibiting viral innate immune antagonist proteins (e.g., Orf6 and Orf9b) or activating the innate immune response, could be the most effective.  Perhaps with this approach, we may be able to get ahead of viruses before they reach pandemic levels.”

For further reading, please read the full article at Mount Sinai’s newsroom.