XBiotech Inc (NASDAQ:XBIT) and BioBridge Global disclosed collaboration on U.S. Food and Drug Administration program to develop potential coronavirus treatment based on natural antibodies from recovered patients.
In a news release issued Sunday, the Austin-based company it’s working toward a potential treatment for COVID-19 patients.
In doing so, XBiotech has developed a clinical test that QualTex Laboratories, a subsidiary of San Antonio-based nonprofit BioBridge Global, will use to identify natural antibodies present in human blood that work against the virus that causes COVID-19.
The testing technology will allow QualTex to identify blood that contains naturally neutralizing antibodies against the virus in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 (convalescent donors).
Plasma collected from these donors by the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC), which also is a subsidiary of BioBridge Global, could be used to treat patients with serious and/or life-threatening COVID-19 infections.
STBTC will, in return, provide blood samples to XBiotech to enable the development of a candidate True Human antibody therapy for the disease.
XBiotech is in the process of transferring the testing technology to QualTex and training its laboratory professionals to perform the assay in its San Antonio laboratory to enable rapid identification and potential use of the convalescent plasma at medical centers in Texas.
"XBiotech is working to contribute solutions to reducing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Chief Scientific Officer Sushma Shivaswamy,
"Our unique human antibody technology at XBiotech has been developed specifically to address these kinds of issues."
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