EirGenix Inc (台康生技) yesterday said that it could mass produce antibodies for use against COVID-19 within five months once the government analyzes the genetic sequence of the virus.
The New Taipei City-based contract development and manufacturing organization and biosimilars maker has partnered with Academia Sinica to assist in creating the antibody, company spokesman Chang Chih-jung (張志榮) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
“It on average takes about 18 months to develop a new antibody through a cell culture process,” Chang said.
However, the company expects the government to allow it to speed up the development process for the sake of public health, he said, adding that it would help produce those antibodies for free.
The ingredients for the antibody require regulatory approval, which would also confirm its safety and efficacy, he said.
Research groups, such as Academia Sinica or hospitals, are expected to run animal tests or clinical tests if development proceeds smoothly, he added.
Although China’s state-owned medical products maker is collecting plasma from the blood of people who have recovered from the virus, the approach could not generate enough antibodies to treat all infected people, Chang said.
Meanwhile, EriGenix has offered a carrier protein, dubbed EG74032, to Academia Sinica and the government for free to aid development of a vaccine against the virus, he said.
The carrier protein has been proven to activate T cells and boost the immune response, which has made it an important ingredient in vaccines, he said.
The protein, developed two years ago, was also provided to the US National Institutes of Health for research, as well as to other pharmaceutical companies in Europe, Japan and Canada, he added.
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