Adaptive Biotechnologies and Amgen have teamed up to develop targeted antibody drugs to treat and prevent the novel coronavirus.
Rather than being snuffed out with a vaccine, Adaptive says the companies are gearing up for a long-term fight against the virus. Because there are likely several strains of the virus circulating around the world and because the virus is likely to mutate, the companies believe the SARS-CoV-2 virus could return seasonally like the flu.
The companies have not disclosed exactly how much money they are investing into their partnership, but work on an antibody treatment has begun already and about 30 of Adaptive’s 40 researchers have now mobilized to prepare a clinical trial using blood samples from COVID-19 survivors. The companies hope to develop an antibody treatment in a faster timeline than the current forecasts for a vaccine.