Memo Therapeutics has identified ultra-rare and highly potent virus-neutralizing antibodies in COVID-19 survivors
Within just six weeks, Memo Therapeutics identified ultra-rare and highly potent virus-neutralizing antibodies from the blood of COVID-19 survivors. These antibodies will be further developed as COVID-19 therapy.
Over the course of a COVID-19 infection, a patient develops antibodies against coronavirus which help the patient to overcome the disease and which later will be stored in memory cells to protect against future infections. Memo exploits this fact by isolating the antibodies for use in patients who cannot overcome a coronavirus infection on their own.
To this end, Memo has selected the most promising donors from hundreds of Swiss COVID-19 patients since March. Memo selected patients who demonstrated a clinical course of COVID-19 with a particularly potent antibody response. Blood samples were used with Memo’s DROPZYLLA® discovery platform to generate complete immune system libraries preserving the entire antibody repertoire present in the patient. Memo was able to identify ultra-rare antibodies with superior virus-neutralizing activity within just six weeks of first patient enrollment. The most potent of these antibodies will now undergo clinical development as a therapy for COVID-19, with a clinical proof-of-concept anticipated for Q4 this year.
Dr. Karsten Fischer, CEO of Memo Therapeutics, said: "The identification of SARS-CoV-2-neturalizing antibodies could be a game changer in how we tackle the global COVID-19 pandemic. The discovery process and ongoing clinical development may also provide key insights into how we can combat new mutants and viral outbreaks in the future, as well as other existing viral diseases."
These are fantastic news and Redalpine would like to congratulate the whole Memo Team for this achievement. More information can be found in Memo's press release and this Businesswire article.