NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. and
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and UTRECHT, Netherlands and ROTTERDAM, Netherlands and SUZHOU,
China, June
5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), Harbour BioMed
(HBM), Utrecht University (UU) and
Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) today announced they have entered into
a collaboration to develop a novel antibody therapeutic to prevent
and treat COVID-19, the pandemic respiratory disease caused by the
SARS-CoV-2 virus. The focus of the collaboration is on advancing
the fully human, neutralizing antibody 47D11 discovered by UU, EMC
and HBM and recently reported in Nature Communications. This
antibody targets the conserved domain of the spike protein of
SARS-CoV-2.
Under the terms of the collaboration, AbbVie will support UU,
EMC and HBM through the preclinical activities, while
simultaneously undertaking preparations for later stage preclinical
and clinical development work. AbbVie will receive an option to
exclusively license the antibody from the three parties for
therapeutic clinical development and commercialization
worldwide.
"Treatment and prevention of COVID-19 remains a critical global
need. The antibody discovered by UU, EMC and Harbour BioMed is
extremely promising based on the mechanism by which it targets the
virus and on its developability as a fully human protein," said
Tom Hudson, M.D., Senior Vice
President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer,
AbbVie. "We look forward to working with this outstanding
team to advance this antibody towards clinical trials."
"AbbVie is a global leader in developing innovative antiviral
therapies," said Dr. Jingsong Wang,
Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of HBM. "This
collaboration will greatly accelerate our efforts to bring this
antibody forward into clinical trials as quickly as possible and
contribute a solution to this pandemic."
"The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the importance of
understanding coronavirus biology," said Berend-Jan Bosch, PhD, Associate Professor,
Research leader at UU. "The collaboration with AbbVie provides an
excellent opportunity to translate our research into a clinical
candidate with great potential for advancing the fight against this
disease."
Frank Grosveld, PhD, Academy
Professor of Cell Biology, EMC, Rotterdam and Founding Chief Scientific
Officer at Harbour BioMed, commented, "The collaboration is an
endorsement of our approach to fully human antibody discovery and
development. Through this collaboration, we are well positioned to
move rapidly towards clinical trials."
The antibody discovery, published online on May 4 in Nature Communications, targets a
conserved region of the virus' spike protein. In cell culture
studies the antibody blocked infection by the SARS-CoV-2 and a
second coronavirus SARS-CoV. The antibody is fully human, which is
designed to facilitate its development and minimize immune-related
side effects.
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and
deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today
and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a
remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic
areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology,
women's health and gastroenterology, in addition to products and
services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more
information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow
@abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and
LinkedIn.
About Utrecht
University
Founded in 1636, Utrecht University is one of the largest
research universities of Europe,
with over thirty thousand students and a staff of more than six
thousand. We invest in creating the leaders of the future through
innovative education of the highest quality, as reflected by the
University's consistently high position in international rankings.
Dedicated to performing groundbreaking research aimed at resolving
large global issues, our culture of cooperation is a breeding
ground for innovation, new insights and social impact.
www.uu.nl.
About Erasmus Medical Center
Erasmus MC is the largest
University Medical Center in the
Netherlands. Our primary goal is a healthy population.
Nearly 14,000 employees devote themselves every day to providing
outstanding care, facilitating world-class education and conducting
pioneering research. These professionals are instrumental in
developing expertise on health and illness. They link the latest
scientific insights to practical treatments and prevention measures
to provide maximum benefit to patients and to enable healthy people
to stay healthy longer. Being visibly better and leading the way in
the areas of complex, innovative and acute care by collaborating
with others: these are key ambitions at Erasmus MC.
About Harbour BioMed
Harbour BioMed is a global,
clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative
therapeutics in the fields of immuno-oncology and inflammatory
diseases. The company is building its proprietary pipeline through
internal R&D programs, collaborations with co-discovery and
co-development partners and select acquisitions.
The company's internal discovery programs are centered around
its two patented transgenic mouse platforms (Harbour Mice®) for
generating both fully human monoclonal antibodies and heavy chain
only antibodies (HCAb) and HBICE™ immune cell engager technology
for developing bispecific antibodies. Harbour BioMed also licenses
the platforms to companies and academic institutions. The
company has operations in Cambridge,
Massachusetts; Rotterdam, The
Netherlands; and Suzhou & Shanghai, China. For more information, please
visit www.harbourbiomed.com
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SOURCE AbbVie