Vanderbilt University and the global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have signed a new agreement that will enable AstraZeneca to advance two coronavirus-neutralizing antibodies discovered by the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center (VVC) into clinical development as a potential combination therapy for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

The agreement announced today builds on the recent collaboration between AstraZeneca, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). The VVC is part of VUMC, while ownership of "inventions" by VUMC's employees are assigned to Vanderbilt University (VU) under an intellectual property and associated technology transfer agreement between VU and VUMC.

After evaluating the ability of more than 1,500 monoclonal antibodies to bind and neutralize the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, in the laboratory, AstraZeneca signed an exclusive license to six candidate antibodies in Vanderbilt's portfolio. The company plans to progress two of these antibodies into clinical evaluation as a combination approach within the next two months.

The antibodies target two distinct parts of the surface "spike" protein that enables the virus to bind to and fuse with the host cell membrane. The goal is to neutralize the virus and to limit its ability to infect healthy cells.

"By combining two monoclonal antibodies that bind to distinct parts of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into what potentially could be a single preventative therapy, we hope to improve its effectiveness in neutralizing the virus," said Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca's Executive Vice President for BioPharmaceuticals R&D.

"This collaboration helps ensure potential medicines that can prevent or treat COVID-19 are accelerated as quickly and safely as possible," he said.

"AstraZeneca is a great partner to take some of our lead antibodies into the clinic rapidly and safely because of their deep experience in developing antibodies for human use," said VVC Director James Crowe, Jr., MD. "Their robust manufacturing and testing capacity are just what is needed in this moment of global crisis."

VVC researchers have developed techniques for rapidly isolating clones of white blood cells that make antibodies targeting specific viral proteins. In the laboratory, these "monoclonal" antibodies are then comprehensively examined to identify those rare antibodies with a laser-like focus for finding -- and neutralizing -- a specific virus.

AstraZeneca has stated that the aim of giving two monoclonal antibodies in combination is to increase the efficacy of treatment and reduce the impact of any mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Vanderbilt antibodies will be engineered using AstraZeneca proprietary technology to extend their longevity in the body.

Major funding sources for the VVC include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund at Vanderbilt.