Benzinga | May 20, 2021 07:06AM EDT

Immunome Announces Additional $4.3M Award by DOD following Positive Preclinical Testing Results on COVID-19 Variants of Concern

- Additional $4.3 million in funding brings total DOD funding to $17.6 million.

- Antibody cocktail (IMM-BCP-01) is a combination of three antibodies that bind to complementary, non-overlapping regions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

- Neutralizes South Africa (B.1.351) and UK (B.1.1.7) in live virus testing and Brazil (P.1) and California (B.1.429, also containing B.1.427 mutations) in pseudovirus testing, all of which are CDC-designated "Variants of Concern."

- Binds to several mutations, including E484Q and L452R, which are associated with the India variant (B.1.617) in mechanistic testing.

Immunome, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMNM), a biopharmaceutical company that utilizes its human memory B cell discovery engine platform to discover and develop first-in-class antibody therapeutics, today announced a $4.3 million increase awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND), in collaboration with the Defense Health Agency (DHA), for the continued development of an antibody cocktail (IMM-BCP-01) to combat SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. The additional capital comes less than a year after an initial DOD award of $13.3 million, bringing the total commitment to Immunome to $17.6 million. The additional funding is to support expansion of the clinical study following feedback from the FDA. Immunome is continuing efforts towards an IND filing for IMM-BCP-01 in late 2Q/early 3Q 2021.

IMM-BCP-01 contains three monoclonal antibodies that bind to non-overlapping regions of the spike protein with picomolar affinity. The antibodies exhibit combinatorial effects in vitro against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants, including those exhibiting both increased transmission in the United States and resistance to current antibody therapeutics and vaccines.

"We are thrilled to have secured additional funding from the Department of Defense," said Purnanand Sarma, Ph.D., President and CEO of Immunome. "We are grateful to the DOD for their continued support and we are eager to move our antibody cocktail into the clinic."