StockMarketWire.com - GlaxoSmithKline agreed to buy a stake in Vir Biotechnology for $250m as part of a wider collaboration to development treatments for coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The collaboration would involve the use Vir's antibody platform technology to accelerate existing and identify new anti-viral antibodies.
The antibodies could then be used as therapeutic or preventative options to help address the current Covid-19 pandemic and future outbreaks.
GlaxoSmithKline would contribute its expertise in functional genomics, while the companies would also combine their screening and artificial intelligence capabilities to identify anti-coronavirus compounds that target cellular host genes.
They would also research SARS-CoV-2 and other coronavirus vaccines.
The pair's initial focus would be to accelerate the development of specific antibody candidates identified by Vir that had demonstrated high affinity for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and were highly potent in neutralising SARS-CoV-2 in live virus-cellular assays.
The companies planned to proceed directly into a phase two clinical trial within the next three-to-five months, subject to regulatory review.
GlaxoSmithKline said it had paid $37.73 per Vir share for its $250m investment, a 10% premium to the closing share price on Friday.
At 1:16pm: [LON:GSK] Glaxosmithkline PLC share price was +5p at 1494.4p
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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