Marking the first time monoclonal antibodies developed by separate companies will be tested in combination against COVID-19, Vir Biotechnology Inc.’s VIR-7831 will be added to Eli Lilly and Co.’s bamlanivimab in the ongoing phase II BLAZE-4 study in low-risk patients with mild to moderate disease. The collaboration comes as early research indicates some antibodies in development appear to lose activity when pitted against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. VIR-7831 (also known as GSK-4182136), partnered with Glaxosmithkline plc, is designed to bind to a different epitope of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein than bamlanivimab. A dual-action antibody, VIR-7831 is designed to both block viral entry into healthy cells and clear infected cells.
Now that the FDA has granted emergency use authorization to Eli Lilly and Co.’s bamlanivimab, the company plans to manufacture up to 1 million doses of the therapy by year-end with worldwide distribution to mild to moderate COVID-19 patients ages 12 and older in early 2021.
HONG KONG – Incheon, South Korea-based Celltrion Inc. has gleaned positive results in a small early stage trial for its anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody CT-P59. The results were presented at the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases’ 2020 fall conference, which took place on Nov. 5.
DUBLIN – Memo Therapeutics AG raised CHF13.8 million (US$15.3 million) in a first close of a series B round to take forward a patient-derived monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19, MTX-Covab, which will move into a phase I/II trial in Germany in the new year.
Despite an NIH move to pause enrollment in a trial testing Eli Lilly and Co.'s COVID-19 antibody candidate, LY-CoV555, after a participant's unexplained illness, at least three other studies of the candidate remain underway, the company said Oct. 14.
An NIH-sponsored phase III trial testing Eli Lilly and Co.'s SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody candidate, LY-CoV555, alongside the Gilead Sciences Inc. antiviral Veklury (remdesivir) has been paused at the request of its data safety monitoring board, the company told BioWorld.
HONG KONG – South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has approved an additional indication for CT-P59, Incheon-based Celltrion Inc.’s anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody.
Astrazeneca plc said it has received about $486 million from the U.S. government to support the development and supply of a long-acting antibody combination under evaluation for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Phase III trials of the candidate, AZD-7442, are slated to begin later this month, the company told BioWorld. One trial will enroll more than 6,000 adults for the prevention of COVID-19 with additional trials set to enroll about 4,000 adults for the treatment of the infection, the Cambridge, U.K.-based company said.
With an ongoing phase II trial showing that a pair of its SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies has so far reduced viral load, symptoms and COVID-19-related hospitalization and ER visits, Eli Lilly and Co. has asked the FDA to consider an emergency use authorization (EUA) for one of the components, LY-CoV555.
CAJICA, Colombia – Privately held Inosan Biopharma SA De Cv, of Mexico City, is racing to develop a biological treatment to cure COVID-19 patients. Inosan has mastered the technique of using horses to produce antibodies to heal patients bitten by poisonous creatures, such as snakes, spiders and scorpions.