Memo Therapeutics gets CHF 10.5 million from the Swiss government to clinically develop their antibody against COVID-19

Memo Therapeutics, an innovator in the field of antibody discovery and development, announced today the receipt of CHF 10.5 million from the Swiss Federal Funding Programme for COVID-19 Medicines to clinically develop COVAB 36, a potent, fully-human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections. COVAB 36 can be administered via inhalation, which could enhance patient acceptance. The project also includes the ability to rapidly develop a combination antibody partner for COVAB 36 targeted against emerging variants through an ultra-fast update process based on Memo Therapeutic AG’s leading antibody discovery platform. Memo Therapeutcis ranked at the TOP 100 Swiss Startups Award from 2015 to 2017.

Memo Therapeutics' platform captures and preserves entire B-cell repertoires from any donor species and any B-cell type in recombinant form for display using mammalian cells. The antibody repertoires are subsequently screened in a single-cell format using microfluidic screening technology that can assess millions of candidate antibodies directly in functional assays, resulting in recombinant clonal cell lines expressing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with the desired functional properties.

Exploiting the power of its microfluidic single-cell molecular cloning and screening technologies, Memo Therapeutics AG engages in antibody discovery across species and indications for proprietary and partnered projects. The company’s current pipeline features programs in infectious diseases and immuno-oncology. Memo Therapeutics AG is a private company located in Bio-Technopark Zurich, Switzerland.

“The Swiss Government’s support in advancing clinical development of our SARS-CoV-2 antibody is an important milestone as we rapidly build upon our excellent preclinical data,” said Karsten Fischer, Chief Executive Officer of Memo Therapeutics AG. “We have been able to confirm outstanding activity in a relevant in vivo model supporting the significant potential of COVAB 36 in tackling SARS-CoV-2 infection. Such novel therapeutics will be essential tools for addressing the rapidly evolving COVID-19 global pandemic.”

Christoph Esslinger, Chief Scientific Officer of Memo Therapeutics AG, further commented: “This funding represents further external validation of our leading antibody discovery platform, as we passed a thorough examination process where only projects with significant potential of clinical innovation and high level of scientific quality were selected. Now that we have completed preclinical development, we look forward to starting phase 1 clinical studies with COVAB 36 in Q1 2022.”

The Swiss Federal Funding Programme for COVID-19 Medicines was implemented by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) with the support of Innosuisse.

Memo Therapeutics ranked at the TOP 100 Swiss Startups Award from 2015 to 2017