Immunology company Vir Biotechnology has selected South Korea-based Samsung Biologics for large-scale production of antibodies to potentially treat Covid-19.
Under the terms of the alliance, Samsung Biologics will offer manufacturing services for Vir’s monoclonal antibody (mAb) programme targeting the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.
In live-virus cellular assays, Vir’s lead mAb candidates, VIR-7831 and VIR-7832, showed high affinity for the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and ability to neutralise the virus.
Vir intends to directly conduct a Phase II clinical trial within the coming three to five months. The agreement with Samsung Biologics comes after Vir forged manufacturing deal with WuXi Biologics and letter of intent with Biogen.