Paediatricians’ Antibodies Show Stronger RSV Protection in Lab Studies

Researchers have identified antibodies from long-serving paediatricians that demonstrate much higher effectiveness against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in laboratory and animal models compared to existing treatments.

The study involved screening blood samples from ten paediatricians, leading to the discovery of antibodies that, in controlled tests, outperformed current monoclonal antibody therapies for RSV by a substantial margin.

Two of the antibodies were found to neutralize RSV strains in rodents and prevent illness, while a third antibody was active against both RSV and human metapneumovirus in laboratory settings.

The findings were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on 18 February 2026, providing new data for potential future therapies targeting respiratory viruses.

What the numbers show

• Up to 25-fold greater effectiveness against RSV was observed in some antibodies
• Blood from 10 paediatricians was screened for the study
• Palivizumab reduces RSV hospitalizations by 45–55% in high-risk infants
• Nirsevimab offers about 10 times higher neutralizing antibody levels than palivizumab
• Study results were published on 18 February 2026

Currently, monoclonal antibody therapies such as palivizumab are used to lower the risk of hospitalization from RSV in infants considered at high risk, with risk reduction rates between 45% and 55% according to published data.

Nirsevimab, another approved monoclonal antibody for RSV prevention in infants, is documented to provide higher and longer-lasting neutralizing antibody levels compared to palivizumab, with approximately a tenfold increase.

The newly identified antibodies from paediatricians’ blood samples were assessed in both laboratory and animal studies, where they demonstrated much higher neutralizing activity than existing monoclonal antibody treatments.

One of the antibodies was also found to be active against human metapneumovirus, a virus related to RSV, suggesting a possible broader application for these antibodies in future research and therapy development.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.