AB-301: HTS for the Discovery of Covid-19 Therapeutics

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested society’s ability to protect global health, and it will likely become an endemic disease that will require an ever-evolving set of therapeutics. Although effective vaccines are becoming increasingly available, millions of people are still subject to severe illness from the virus and require therapeutic treatment. And with future coronavirus pandemics on the horizon, we must act fast to expedite viral research in the hopes of creating new therapeutics.

To reach this goal, we need a platform that allows for rapid, low-cost, and safe discovery of effective antiviral therapeutics. Professor Alexander Ploss has created a SARS-CoV-2 model that can replicate itself exactly as the real virus does, but it cannot enter cells without researcher assistance. This technology, known as a replicon, is considered safe enough to be worked with under BSL-2 conditions, whereas the SARS-CoV-2 virus must be contained under BSL-3 conditions. BSL-3 labs are very expensive to open and operate, and those that already exist are largely at capacity. Bringing COVID-19 research down to BSL-2 labs will reduce the time and cost necessary for high-throughput testing of potential therapeutics.

We worked with Professor Ploss and our industry advisors to develop a licensing deal for the SARS-CoV-2 replicon model and estimated the financial returns of the business.

The deal was pitched virtually to eight biotechnology companies/venture capital firms (5AM Ventures, Ginkgo Bioworks, Amgen, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Vir Biotechnology, Merck & Co, and LianBio) in addition to NJHF, the Princeton Entrepreneurship Council, and the Office for the Dean of Research.