YUMAB Identifies Promising Candidate for COVID-19 Antibody Therapy
Fully human antibody candidate identified from the YUMAB® platform has neutralizing effect of SARS-CoV2 in the presence of living cells
BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- YUMAB, a German antibody development company, announced today it has identified fully human monoclonal antibodies with neutralizing activity against patient-derived coronavirus strain SARS-CoV2. This milestone was achieved in collaboration with the CORAT consortium. CORAT, originally initiated by YUMAB founder Prof. Stefan Dübel (University of Braunschweig) and Prof. Gundram Jung (University of Tübingen), is a world-class consortium of academic and industrial partners aligned to combat COVID-19.
YUMAB's next generation universal human antibody platform generated hundreds of virus-specific antibody candidates. In parallel, YUMAB built antibody libraries from recovered COVID-19 donors for identification of additional therapeutic candidates. Antibody drug candidates with full neutralization capacity of a patient-derived SARS-CoV2 strain were confirmed by Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI).
"This result represents a fundamental milestone in development of an effective therapy for COVID-19," said Dr. Thomas Schirrmann, CEO of YUMAB. The company's CSO, André Frenzel, comments "YUMAB decided early-on to pursue multiple stratagies to identify effective therapeutic candidates." Dr. Frenzel adds, "This result was achieved in collaboration with our partners in the CORAT consortium who supported us to reach this important milestone."
YUMAB and its CORAT partners are in close communication with regulatory authorities regarding clinical development of antibody drug candidates. Dr. Schirrmann looks ahead confidently, "Given the high level of cooperation within CORAT and close communication with regulatory authorities, we expect to start clinical studies in humans in the 2nd half of 2020."
About YUMAB
YUMAB develops fully human antibodies from target to lead for clients and partners worldwide. Its proprietary antibody platform covers all technologies from antibody discovery to antibody engineering and lead optimization. YUMAB antibodies contain natural, close to germline sequences promising low immunogenicity and toxicity. The advanced in vitro and on-cell selection technologies provide high success-rates to all types of antigens.
SOURCE YUMAB Inc
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