An innovative bispecific antibody has been found to bind to and neutralize the Omicron and Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 in live virus studies.

RBT-0813, a VHH bispecific antibody discovered by Revelar Biotherapeutics (Bethesda, MD, USA) and Twist Bioscience (South San Francisco, CA, USA), binds to the RBD (receptor binding domain) and appears to bind also outside of the RBM (receptor binding motif) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, making it potentially less prone to escape mutations which are often concentrated in the RBM.

According to the new in vitro binding and neutralization data, binding and kinetic data were generated through Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and independently confirmed by flow cytometry. The live virus plaque-reduction data were generated using live SARS-CoV-2 virus from ancestral, as well as the Omicron (B.1.1.529/BA.1) and Delta (B.1.617.2) variants of concern (VOC) isolated from patient nasopharyngeal specimens.

“With this data, we have now confirmed that RBT-0813 binds to and neutralizes both the Delta and Omicron variants of concern in pre-clinical laboratory testing,” said Glenn Marina, CEO of Revelar Biotherapeutics. “We are working diligently to complete preclinical and CMC development to support an IND and the initiation of clinical studies in humans. In parallel, we are in discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and expect to submit our IND in 1H2022.”

“We are encouraged by these positive results, building on data from peer-reviewed publications in Science and a recent publication in mAbs, that demonstrated Twist Biopharma’s ability to discover the individual antibodies used to build the bispecific RBT-0813,” said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Twist said. “These new results indicate that RBT-0813 could potentially offer treatment for patients infected with the most prevalent strains of COVID-19.” 

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