AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XBiotech (NASDAQ:XBIT), the world's leading developer of True Human™ therapeutic antibodies, announced today positive results for its True Human antibody therapeutic against Ebola virus infection. The results were part of the Company's collaborative research with the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). USAMRIID tested the Company's recently developed therapeutic antibodies for their ability to neutralize live virus. The results showed that 8 out of 10 of the antibodies tested were able to effectively neutralize the Ebola virus.
The Company discovered the anti-Ebola therapeutic antibodies from blood donations it received earlier this year from convalescent patients who had recovered from Ebola virus infections. Once infected by the virus, patients who survive develop natural antibodies that can protect against further infection with the virus. The Company thus used blood from individuals recovered from Ebola virus infection to identify natural antibodies that neutralize the virus. The Company claims that the therapeutic antibodies tested by USAMRIID are the only true human therapeutic antibodies developed against the Ebola virus outbreak that peaked in Africa in 2013-2014 and that also infected patients in the USA and Europe. The Company has also already developed production capability for these therapeutic antibodies that could be used in large scale manufacturing.
Dr. Pamela Glass, Chief, Viral Biology Department, USAMRIID, who supervised the testing of identified antibodies, said, "These studies demonstrate the capability of the True Human platform to identify functional antibodies from survivors of Ebola or any biological agent infection."
Dr. Sushma Shivaswamy, Vice President of Research and Development at XBiotech, stated, "We launched the discovery program only earlier this year to clone candidate therapeutic antibodies from Ebola-recovered patients. It is gratifying to now confirm that these antibodies indeed neutralize virus, proving again the powerful potential of our True Human antibody platform. Of course these findings today would not be possible without the courageous work from the USAMRIID scientific team, whose work with live Ebola virus confirmed the neutralizing activity of these antibodies. We are eager to make this candidate therapy available to help relieve suffering from this devastating virus."
About XBiotech
XBiotech is pioneering the discovery and development of targeted antibodies based on its True Human™ technology. The company's mission is to rethink the way antibody medicines are discovered and commercialized by advancing its robust pipeline of human antibodies for treating serious diseases such as cancer, inflammatory conditions and infectious diseases. XBiotech's lead product, Xilonix™, is a potential breakthrough antibody therapy that is currently the subject of two pivotal clinical studies for treating patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Xilonix specifically targets and neutralizes interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1a), a molecule known to promote angiogenesis, growth and spread of tumors, as well as mediate symptoms such as metabolic dysregulation, fatigue and anxiety associated with advanced cancer. XBiotech's True Human antibodies are cloned directly from individual donors who possess natural immunity against certain diseases. For more information, visit www.xbiotech.com.
About USAMRIID
USAMRIID's mission is to provide leading edge medical capabilities to deter and defend against current and emerging biological threat agents. Research conducted at USAMRIID leads to medical solutions—vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and information—that benefit both military personnel and civilians. The Institute plays a key role as the lead military medical research laboratory for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Joint Science and Technology Office for Chemical and Biological Defense. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
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