Diagnostics developer and life science research company Adaptive Biotechnologies and Amgen announced today a partnership to discover and develop fully human neutralizing antibodies for the possible prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The collaboration will leverage together Adaptive’s proprietary immune medicine platform for the identification of virus-neutralizing antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 with Amgen’s expertise in immunology and novel antibody therapy development. While terms of the deal are still to be finalized, the companies said they will be begin work immediately on the program.
“Our strong history of collaboration with Adaptive gives us the ability to immediately mobilize our combined resources to help address the urgency in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and CEO of Amgen, in a press release. “After swiftly obtaining viral gene sequences from hundreds of patients, Amgen was motivated to use these insights and quickly pair them with our drug development and manufacturing capabilities. Working with Adaptive and using their viral-neutralizing antibody platform will expedite our ability to bring a promising new medicine into clinical trials as quickly as possible.”
In the collaboration, Adaptive will leverage its high-throughput antibody screening platform to detail the genetic diversity of the B cell receptors from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. This will allow for the identification of tens of thousands of naturally occurring antibodies from survivors of the virus to select the best candidates for neutralizing SARS-CoV-2. Using this information, Amgen will select, develop, and manufacture antibodies designed to bind and neutralize SARS-CoV-2. Amgen’s subsidiary deCODE Genetics, will provide genetic insights from patients who were previously infected with COVID-19.
“We are extremely motivated to join forces with our trusted partner, Amgen, to tackle this global health crisis,” said Chad Robins, CEO and co-founder of Adaptive Biotechnologies. “This partnership expands our drug discovery capabilities, demonstrating the power and versatility of our immune medicine platform.”
