Active Motif, Carlsbad, Calif, has released a preprint publication regarding their efforts in in China to isolate, develop, and deliver high-value fully human recombinant SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to the market.1

Several of these antibodies with neutralizing properties were selected by Hisun Biopharma for potential use as a treatment for severe cases of covid-19 infections. The antibodies are also being sourced by diagnostic developers for various applications such as lateral flow assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), as well as for use as a capture antibody, as sandwich pairs, and as controls.

The pre-print manuscript describes how more than 1,000 memory B cells specific to SARS-CoV-2 were isolated from 11 convalescent patients from the Wuhan Province of China. Active Motif’s proprietary sorting method known as AbEpic was leveraged to isolate the antibodies and characterization of the clones was performed through the use of proteins, pseudovirus, and live virus.

This process identified 178 recombinant monoclonal antibodies that tested positive for antigen binding and 17 strong binders to SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein or the receptor-binding domain (RBD) were identified with Kd (EC50) below 1 nM.

“Active Motif effectively partnered and collaborated with the University of Fudan and its Public Health Clinical Center to turn this into a reality,” says Fei Lan, PhD, a lead research investigator and author of the manuscript.

“We are proud of the effort made by the many employees at Active Motif who have taken the extra effort required to provide access to these antibodies and it is a great feeling to know that we can assist in making an impact on this pandemic,” says Ted DeFrank, president and CEO of Active Motif.

For more information, visit Active Motif.

Reference

  1. Wan J, Xing S, Ding L, Human IgG cell neutralizing monoclonal antibodies block SARS-CoV-2 infection. 2020; doi: 10.1101/2020.05.19.104117. Available on bioRxiv.

Featured image:

 Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID.