In a paper published today in Science Advances, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine showed that inhalable nanobodies targeting the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can prevent and treat severe COVID-19 in hamsters. This is the first time the nanobodies—which are similar to monoclonal antibodies but smaller in size, more stable and cheaper to produce—were tested for inhalation treatment against coronavirus infections in a pre-clinical model.