Episode 67: Prof. Andrew Shaw – Antibody gap

What if there was one test that could diagnose Long Covid and determine your treatment strategy?

Professor Andrew Shaw, a physical chemist from the University of Exeter, specialises in devising new rapid diagnostic tests and assays for clinicians to gather new information.  He has been studying immunity testing and antibodies for over 20 years and, through his company Attomarker, believes that he has devised a diagnostic test for Long Covid. 

Based on the theory of viral persistence, from a finger prick of blood Attomarker’s test can reveal the gap in a patient’s antibody spectrum which, he says, shows the variant to which a patient had an insufficient antibody response, leaving them with viral residue that causes the chronic symptoms of Long Covid.  Once established the gap can then be filled, either with monoclonal antibodies, or with an appropriate vaccine, to theoretically rid the patient of the disease.

In this week’s episode we explore the theories of antibody response to the strains of Covid, the effects of the vaccine, and the results that the Attomarker test and treatment have so far revealed.

Still in early days and currently seeking funding for full scale trials, Shaw is working with Re:Cognition Health, specialists in brain and mind health, to help Long Covid sufferers.  He believes that they could have found a solid diagnostic test, along with a potential treatment, for Long Covid.  With one patient much recovered using this strategy, Attomarker and Re:Cognition Health are striving to bring their ‘silver bullet’ to Long Covid sufferers.