“The Government of Canada announced Sunday that BC-based biotechnology company AbCellera Biologics has received a $175.6M contribution to support the development of its antibody discovery technology to help treat COVID-19 and future pandemics.
AbCellera researches next-generation antibody drugs to fight infection and disease. Its project that received funding is to search and analyze the blood samples of recovered patients to rapidly find naturally-produced antibodies that can be used to fight and prevent viral infections. The company has already identified over 500 antibodies from a recovered COVID-19 patient. AbCellera and its partners expect clinical trials to begin by July 2020. The antibodies found may also be used to create tests for COVID-19.
Finally, the company will also use a portion of the contribution to establish a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility in Vancouver that will be the first of this scale in Canada capable of going from a patient sample to manufacturing antibodies for clinical testing.
The funding Abcellera received comes out of the Government’s $1B Plan to Mobilize Science to fight COVID-19, which included $600M for the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). SIF is currently seeking Canadian companies capable of advancing the development of a vaccine or therapy for COVID-19.”
Original content posted by Funding Portal and can be found here: https://fundingportal.com/grants101/featured-grant-abcellera-gets-175-6m/