Harbour BioMed and AbbVie Collaborate to Advance Innovative Fully Human Monoclonal Antibody for COVID-19
AbbVie
Innovative Drug Developer
Harbour BioMed
Antibody Drug Developer
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a public research university located in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Founded on March 26, 1636 (384 years ago), it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as of 2018. The university’s mission is to provide education in science and various other fields; conduct scientific and multidisciplinary research; and serve society. Utrecht University comprises seven faculties. Apart from technical and agricultural engineering programs offered by universities of applied sciences, Utrecht University offers courses in nearly all fields of knowledge, making it the largest university in the Netherlands. It offers 45 bachelor’s programs, 138 master’s programs, and 32 teacher training programs. Among these, 6 bachelor’s and 89 master’s programs are taught in English, covering almost all academic disciplines.
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus University Rotterdam is a comprehensive university with an education orientation focused on practical application, boasting strong teaching and research capabilities. Established in 1913, the university has cultivated a large number of outstanding government leaders, senior executives, and high-ranking civil servants, such as former Dutch Prime Minister Dr. Ruud Lubbers and former Director-General of the World Trade Organization Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi. The university is located in Rotterdam, a renowned modern trade port city. In the early 20th century, the industrial and commercial sectors deemed applied higher education essential for the rapidly developing port and business activities; thus, with their support, the Netherlands School of Commerce was founded as a private institution. In 1973, the Netherlands School of Economics merged with the Rotterdam Medical School to form Erasmus University Rotterdam. It is the only university in the Netherlands named after a scholar. Desiderius Erasmus has enjoyed prestige in academic circles for centuries and remains a figure whom Rotterdam should always remember.
NORTH CHICAGO, Cambridge, Rotterdam and Suzhou, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), Harbour BioMed (“Harbour BioMed”), Utrecht University and Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands jointly announced today a strategic collaboration for the co-development of an innovative monoclonal antibody for the prevention and treatment of novel coronavirus respiratory disease (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The collaboratively developed innovative fully human neutralizing antibody, 47D11, targets a conserved region of the coronavirus spike protein, thus holding promise not only for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19, but also for addressing other related coronaviruses that may emerge in the future. This antibody was co-discovered by Harbour BioMed, Utrecht University and Erasmus University Medical Center, and has recently been published in Nature Communications.
Under the terms of the collaboration, AbbVie will provide full support to Harbour BioMed and its collaborators through upfront research and clinical development preparation activities. Meanwhile, AbbVie will also have the opportunity to obtain exclusive global commercialization rights for the project.
“Treating and preventing the COVID-19 virus remains one of the core global needs. The innovative antibody developed jointly by Harbour BioMed and two universities targets the virus’s S protein. As a fully human protein, it possesses high developability, which is why we are very optimistic about this project,” said Dr. Tom Hudson, Senior Vice President and Chief Research and Development Scientific Officer at AbbVie.，“We look forward to collaborating with such an outstanding team to rapidly advance this antibody into clinical trials.”
Dr. Wang Jinsong, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Harbour BioMed, stated, “AbbVie is a global leader in innovative antiviral therapies. Its partnership can accelerate the project’s entry into clinical development, maximize the impact of our research outcomes, and address the urgent unmet needs in this epidemic field as soon as possible.”
“The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2,such thatMassesConsciousness"...to the importance of coronavirus biology," said Dr. Berend-Jan Bosch, Associate Professor and Research Lead at Utrecht University.，“Collaboration with AbbVie presents an excellent opportunity to maximize the potential for translating our research findings into drug candidates, thereby accelerating humanity’s progress in overcoming such diseases.”Importantopportunity.”
Dr. Frank Grosveld, Founding Chief Scientific Officer of Harbour BioMed and Professor of Cell Biology at Erasmus Medical Center, stated, “This collaboration is a testament to the recognition of our fully human antibody discovery and development platform, and we are well-prepared to rapidly advance into clinical trials.”
“Nature Communications” published the research paper on this antibody on May 4. This antibody is a fully human antibody, requiring no humanization, which can reduce potential side effects caused by immunogenicity and accelerate development speed. Meanwhile, it targets the conserved region of the coronavirus S protein. Cell culture studies have shown that this antibody can block infections by both SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV.