Twist Bioscience Identifies Competitive Antibodies for SARS-CoV-2

May 7 2020

Twist Bioscience Corporation today reported it has identified competitive antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which could potentially be used for diagnostic tests or therapeutic treatments.

Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

Twist’s unique monoclonal antibody candidates bind with a high affinity to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) on the S1 spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 viral molecules. Twist has also found antibody candidates that bind with high affinity to the human ACE2 cellular receptor, the binding site of SARS-CoV-2 in the human body.

“The rapid emergence of a global pandemic requires agile countermeasures bringing together the best science to defeat COVID-19, and we deployed our biopharma activities to meet this challenge,” said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO, and co-founder of Twist Bioscience.

By leveraging our unique capability to precisely write DNA along with our fully human antibody libraries derived from natural human antibodies, we found leads against antigens involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection. We generated highly potent and functional monoclonal antibodies against COVID-19 in a matter of just six weeks.”

In March, as the global pandemic was gaining traction rapidly, Twist Biopharma, a division of Twist Bioscience, leveraged its robust proprietary synthetic antibody discovery libraries each containing more than 10 billion antibody sequences.

The results of several rounds of screening and optimization identified key competitive antibodies with potent biological activity that bind to the receptor-binding domain of the S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 and separately, a series of antibodies that bind to the extracellular domain (ECD) of ACE2 in human cells.

For next steps, we expect to refine and optimize our antibody leads and scale up those compounds for in vitro functional testing. We look forward to advancing these candidates into preclinical development and identifying a partner for further studies. We intend to use every tool at our disposal to fight this pandemic.”

Aaron Sato, Ph.D., CSO of Twist Biopharma.

To learn more about Twist Biopharma’s antibody leads for SARS-CoV-2, watch this webinar: https://www.twistbioscience.com/resources/writing-future-biologics-discover-and-optimize-antibodies.