XBiotech and BioBridge Global Collaborate on FDA Program to Develop Potential COVID-19 Treatment Based on Natural Antibodies ...
April 03 2020 - 4:53PM
XBiotech Inc. (NASDAQ: XBIT) and BioBridge Global today announced
their collaboration to participate in a U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) investigational program for U.S. blood centers
to begin collecting and distributing convalescent plasma from
individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.
In working toward a potential treatment for
COVID-19 patients, XBiotech has developed a clinical test that
QualTex Laboratories, a subsidiary of San Antonio-based nonprofit
BioBridge Global, will use to identify natural antibodies present
in human blood that work against the virus that causes COVID-19.
The testing technology will allow QualTex to identify blood that
contains naturally neutralizing antibodies against the virus in
patients who have recovered from COVID-19 (convalescent
donors).
Plasma collected from these donors by the South
Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC), which also is a subsidiary
of BioBridge Global, could be used to treat patients with serious
and/or life-threatening COVID-19 infections. STBTC will, in
return, provide blood samples to XBiotech to enable the development
of a candidate True Human™ antibody therapy for the disease.
XBiotech is in the process of transferring the
testing technology to QualTex and training its laboratory
professionals to perform the assay in its San Antonio laboratory to
enable rapid identification and potential use of the
convalescent plasma at medical centers in Texas.
“XBiotech is working to contribute solutions to
reducing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Sushma
Shivaswamy, Ph.D, XBiotech’s Chief Scientific Officer. “Our unique
human antibody technology at XBiotech has been developed
specifically to address these kinds of issues.
“We are humbled to be able to support BioBridge
Global in its effort to use human convalescent donor blood to
provide remedies for patients hospitalized with this deadly
disease. XBiotech will continue to use its technology and resources
to support the effort against COVID-19.”
Dr. Rachel Beddard, BioBridge Global Medical
Director, also commented, “We are excited to be among the first to
be able to provide our blood donors with the opportunity to help
COVID-19 patients and their families fight this illness.”
About BioBridge GlobalBioBridge
Global is a San Antonio-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that
offers diverse services through its subsidiaries – the South Texas
Blood & Tissue Center, QualTex Laboratories, GenCure and The
Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. BBG provides products and
services in blood resource management, cellular therapy, donated
umbilical cord blood and human tissue as well as testing of blood,
plasma and tissue products for clients in the United States and
worldwide. BBG is committed to saving and enhancing lives through
the healing power of human cells and tissue. It enables advances in
the field of regenerative medicine by providing access to human
cells and tissue, testing services and biomanufacturing and
clinical trials support. Learn more at BioBridgeGlobal.org.
About XBiotech XBiotech is
a fully integrated, global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to
pioneering the discovery, development and commercialization of
therapeutic antibodies. XBiotech currently is advancing a pipeline
of therapies based on harnessing naturally occurring antibodies
from patients with immunity to certain diseases. The approach to
use natural human immunity as a source of new medicines offers the
potential to redefine the standards of care a wide range of
diseases. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, XBiotech also is leading
the development of innovative manufacturing technology to reduce
the cost and complexity of biological drug production. For more
information, visit www.xbiotech.com.
About True Human™ Therapeutic
AntibodiesXBiotech’s True Human™ antibodies are the only
available antibodies derived without modification from humans who
possess natural immunity to certain diseases. (Unlike all
commercially available antibodies, which are called “Humanized” or
“Fully Human”, XBiotech’s True Human™ antibodies are directly
sourced from the natural human immune response for specific
diseases without modification, and thereby have not been shown to
cause immunogenicity.) With discovery and clinical programs across
multiple disease areas, XBiotech’s True Human antibodies have the
potential to harness the body’s natural immunity to fight disease
with increased safety, efficacy and tolerability.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking
statements, including declarations regarding management's beliefs
and expectations that involve substantial risks and uncertainties.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by
terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "would," "could,"
"expects," "plans," "contemplate," "anticipates," "believes,"
"estimates," "predicts," "projects," "intend" or "continue" or the
negative of such terms or other comparable terminology, although
not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions that
could cause the actual results to differ materially from those
projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties are subject to the disclosures set forth in the "Risk
Factors" section of certain of our SEC filings. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual
results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the
development of the industry in which we operate, may differ
materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this
press release. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this
press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We
assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
after the date of this press release.
Contact XBiotechAshley
Oteroaotero@xbiotech.com512-386-2930
Contact BioBridge GlobalMary
UhligMary.Uhlig@BioBridgeGlobal.org210-731-5519
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