Candidate: STI-4920 (CMAB020) to treat COVID-19
Type: ACE-MABTM bi-specific fusion protein designed to bind to the spike protein of coronaviruses—including SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV—which is expected to block SARS-CoV-2 from binding and infecting respiratory epithelial cells or ACE2-expressing cells to interrupt the viral life cycle.
Status: Sorrento said March 24 it will partner with Mabpharm to develop STI-4920, through a collaboration whose value was not disclosed. ACE-MABs have two functional arms: A fully human antibody that targets the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 with high affinity, and a truncated ACE2 protein that binds to a different epitope of the spike protein. The fusion protein could also block the receptor binding domain with CD147 to mitigate lung inflammation and cytokine storm, according to Sorrento.
Sorrento has agreed to develop and commercialize ACE-MAB in North America and Europe, while Mabpharm retains rights in the rest of the world, including China and Japan. Sorrento has entered into a research testing agreement with The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston for preclinical testing of the company’s COVID-19 therapeutic product candidates.
COVID-19: 200 Candidates and Counting
To navigate through the >200 potential therapeutic and vaccine options for COVID-19, GEN has grouped the candidates into four broad categories based on their developmental and (where applicable) clinical progress:
● FRONT RUNNER – the most promising therapeutics/vaccines based on clinical progress, favorable data or both.
● DEFINITELY MAYBE – earlier phases with promising partners, or more advanced candidates in development that have generated uneven data
● KEEPING AN EYE ON… – interesting technology, attracting notable partners, or both, but preliminary data.
● TOO SOON TO TELL – longshots pending additional experimental and/or clinical data.
GEN has also tagged the most common treatment types:
● ANTIVIRAL
● VAX
● ANTIBODY
● RNA
