Abnova Re-Focus and Develop First COVID-19 Humanized Antibody for Inhaled Therapeutic and Nasal Spray Prophylactic Uses

Neihu, Taiwan (January 11, 2021)

Abnova announced today that it has re-focused its COVID-19 humanized antibody for inhaled therapeutic and nasal spray prophylactic use. Both Eli Lilly and Regeneron have received FDA emergency authorization approval (EUA) for their therapeutic antibodies in November 2020. All of the approved and in-development therapeutic COVID-19 antibodies so far are administered to the patients via the parenteral route. In contrast, inhaled therapeutic antibody provides a more direct administration to the lung which is the principal target of the COVID-19 infection. Moreover, nasal spray prophylactic antibody protects oneself before and right after vaccination before the development of protective antibodies, and an effective way to control the COVID-19 transmission.

Recent advancement of vibrating mesh nebulization technology has enabled the aerosolization of therapeutic antibody from solution to vapor phase. This has overcome the barrier of antibody treatment of lung disease via inhaled administration. The advantages of inhaled antibody are self-administration for deployment in non-hospitalized settings instead of inpatient IV infusion, and lowered antibody dose from 2000mg to 2mg per dose which drastically decreases the cost and scale of antibody manufacturing. Improvement in nasal spray formulation technology stabilizes the antibody in the solution phase for frequent use and storage. The appearance of new B1.1.1.7 mutated virus has increased the infectivity and transmission of COVID-19 virus. Antibody nasal spray is an useful adjunct to mask and pre- and post-vaccination to prevent virus spread.

Abnova’s 7F7 COVID-19 antibody has been produced, humanized, characterized all in Taiwan. It is the foremost demonstration of Taiwan’s antibody capability during this pandemic era. It is the best-in-class COVID-19 antibody based on inherent antibody properties and characterizations. The re-focusing of the antibody development in important to compete in the COVID-19 antibody landscape. So far, no inhaled or nasal spray COVID-19 antibody has entered the clinical trials. These unique utilities not only differentiate Abnova’s 7F7 antibody from the competitors but also complement the existing armamentarium against the unrelenting virus.