AbCellera’s world-leading drug discovery technology that identifies antibodies for potential use in drugs to treat and prevent COVID-19 got cash support from Canadian Government of $175.6 million.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AbCellera—AbCellera announced today it has received a commitment of up to $175.6 million in support from the Government of Canada under Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s (ISED) Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to expand efforts related to the discovery of antibodies for use in drugs to treat COVID-19, and to build technology and manufacturing infrastructure for antibody therapies against future pandemic threats.
AbCellera’s antibody discovery platform is being used to search blood samples of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to aid in the discovery of antibodies that can be used to treat and prevent the disease. Since receiving one of the first North American samples from a recovered patient on February 25th, AbCellera has identified over 500 unique human anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies as part of a collaboration with the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health. Antibodies discovered by AbCellera may also be used to create new diagnostic tests to support the medical community in monitoring the spread of COVID-19.
“Our government is mobilizing its resources to confront COVID-19, supporting the researchers and businesses that are working hard to develop medical countermeasures to beat this pandemic. Today’s contribution will support AbCellera Biologics as they use their world-leading technology to rapidly identify solutions for COVID-19 while ensuring Canada’s long-term preparedness for future health challenges,” stated the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
AbCellera previously announced a partnership with Eli Lilly and Company that seeks to develop a treatment for COVID-19 with the goal of beginning clinical trials in July 2020. As part of the collaboration, Lilly will independently fund and lead clinical development and testing of antibody therapeutics discovered through this partnership.
“Each and every one of us is affected, and our teams stand together, galvanized to fight this outbreak,” said Carl Hansen, Ph.D., CEO of AbCellera.
The Strategic Innovation Fund is quickly deploying support to Canadian companies that are working on large-scale and later-stage promising research and development projects aimed at providing medical countermeasures to COVID-19, including vaccines and critical medical supplies.
In addition to the support from the Government of Canada, AbCellera is receiving support from the City of Vancouver. “The City of Vancouver is fully committed to ensuring AbCellera has the infrastructure needed as they accelerate finding a treatment for COVID-19,” said Mayor Kennedy Stewart, City of Vancouver.
Phase 1 of the project will improve and apply AbCellera’s world-leading antibody discovery platform to identify fully human antibodies for the potential prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and future pandemics. Phase 2 will build a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility in Vancouver, BC. This facility will be the first in Canada capable of going from a patient sample to manufacturing antibodies for clinical testing, and will help Canada be prepared to respond to future pandemics.