Immunome, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMNM), a biopharmaceutical company that utilizes its human memory B cell platform to discover and develop first-in-class antibody therapeutics, today announced that it published data demonstrating that its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, IMM-BCP-01, potently cleared the Omicron variant (BA.1) of SARS-CoV-2 when tested in vivo in hamsters. Additional in vitro testing of a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus also showed that IMM20253, one of the antibodies in Immunome’s cocktail, successfully neutralized the Omicron subvariant (BA.2).
When tested in hamster models, IMM-BCP-01 retained full coverage against the Omicron variant. Specifically, the data suggest strong activity of two antibodies in the cocktail, IMM20253 and IMM20184, which target distinct, non-overlapping epitopes of SARS-CoV-2, against the Omicron variant. IMM20253 showed potency when tested on its own and enhanced viral load reductions when combined with IMM20184.
"We are pleased to report this positive in vivo data in hamsters, which we believe based on historical context is the gold standard for preclinical testing of COVID-19 therapies," said Purnanand Sarma, PhD, President and CEO of Immunome.
Additionally, Immunome published data showing that IMM20253, which exhibits a novel mechanism of action by promoting a proteolytic cleavage of the portion of the spike protein needed for ACE2 binding, retained activity against the BA.2 subvariant in pseudovirus testing. Based on this result coupled with cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) analysis of IMM20253 binding, Immunome expects its antibody cocktail will retain effectiveness against BA.2 in a live virus setting, as well as against other emerging variants of Omicron, including BA.4/BA.5. The results of Immunome’s research have been published to the preprint website bioRxiv.
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