XBiotech Has Identified COVID-19 Antibodies to Be Used as Therapy

Health and Healthcare

Published: August 17, 2020 12:12 pm

XBiotech Inc. (NASDAQ: XBIT) shares made a handy gain on Monday after the company said that it has identified True Human antibodies that could potentially be used as a therapy against SARS-CoV2.

The firm found these antibodies through a collaboration with BioBridge Global, which is the parent organization of the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and QualTex Laboratories, one of the largest independent testing laboratories in the United States.

For the collaboration, BioBridge Global used XBiotech’s proprietary COVID-19 screening technology to identify blood donors who had been infected by the novel coronavirus, as part of a program to provide convalescent plasma to treat patients suffering from severe COVID-19 infections.

In return, BioBridge Global provided XBiotech with blood samples from patients who had been infected with COVID-19. For its antibody discovery process, XBiotech selected blood samples from patients who had recovered rapidly from the virus without serious illness, factors that indicated these donors had antibodies that were highly effective at protecting them against the virus.

XBiotech originally received its donor blood and launched its discovery program for COVID-19 True Human antibodies back in May. Currently, the firm has a number of True Human antibodies that precisely block the COVID-19 virus’s ability to be infectious and at the same time enable the body to clear the virus naturally.

Excluding Monday’s move, XBiotech stock had underperformed the broad markets, down about 8% year to date. However, over the past 52 weeks, the stock is actually up closer to 122%.

XBiotech stock traded up about 10% to $18.86 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $7.82 to $26.40. The consensus price target is $18.00.