Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.XOMA would conduct the F10 antibody program under a $2.2m subcontract with SRI International
Subscribe to our email newsletter
XOMA has expanded its biodefense programs to include the development of a novel antibody that has been shown by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School researchers to neutralise group 1 influenza A viruses, including the H1N1 and the H5N1 strains.
The antibody F10 could provide a new alternative to treating both seasonal and pandemic virus infections, particularly for patients who have drug-resistant virus strains, are immunocompromised, or have not been vaccinated.
XOMA would conduct the F10 antibody program under a $2.2m subcontract with SRI International. The subcontract would be funded through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
The company said that F10 antibody binds to a region on group 1 influenza viruses which is present across group 1 influenza A viruses. The antibody was initially developed in the laboratory of Wayne Marasco, associate professor of medicine. Results from initial evaluations of the antibody were recently published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.
Patrick Scannon, executive vice president and chief medical officer of XOMA, said: “The first line of defense against any flu virus is vaccination, although the pandemic outbreak of influenza presents challenges to quickly manufacture enough vaccine to treat the population.”
Steven Engle, chairman and CEO of XOMA, said: “We are pleased that XOMA will be working with SRI on this important new project. Our goal is to rapidly optimise the anti-flu antibody for preclinical testing and so that it can be efficiently mass-produced if the need arises.”
XOMA would be responsible for the evaluation and optimisation of the antibody cell line for growth, productivity, manufacturability and performance in bioreactors, following which XOMA would manufacture the antibody for preclinical studies.
XOMA has also announced a $65m multiyear contract to support XOMA’s ongoing development of drug candidates towards clinical trials in the treatment of botulism poisoning. NIAID has awarded three contracts for a total of nearly $100m to XOMA to develop anti-botulism antibodies.