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OPK Gets Additional BARDA Funding to Develop Multispecific Antibodies
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OPKO Health, Inc.’s (OPK - Free Report) company, ModeX Therapeutics Inc., was awarded $35 million of additional funding under an existing contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday. The funding brings the total support awarded to ModeX to $110 million out of $205 million if all options are executed.
The funding is expected to support the development of a second novel multispecific antibody to SARS-CoV-2 from preclinical through Phase 1 trials, as well as preclinical work on gene-based expression of multispecific antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 including mRNA and/or DNA vectors. Additionally, ModeX will begin the development of influenza multispecifics with gene and/or protein delivery modalities by initiating the second phase of BARDA funding through the activation of a $16 million option.
The funding and advancement of these programs will further explore ModeX’s proprietary MSTAR platform to prepare for outbreaks and respond rapidly to emerging viral threats.
The contract is expected to boost ModeX’s research and development programs related to the multispecific antibodies, thereby solidifying OPKO Health’s foothold in the niche space.
Significance of the Contract to OPKO Health
Influenza-related disease and COVID remain significant public health issues despite the seasonal availability of vaccines. Per OPKO Health, multispecific antibodies have the potential for wider coverage to enable protection against multiple strains of a pathogen and be more resilient against pathogen evolution. OPK believes that gene-based antibody expression represents a new method with the potential to significantly reduce manufacturing costs and allow faster pivoting for new and emerging threats compared with conventional protein-based antibodies.
OPKO Health’s management believes that through its collaboration with BARDA, it expects to develop new medicines to protect the public from existing and emerging infectious disease pathogens.
Industry Prospects in Favor of OPK
Per a report by Coherent Market Insights, the global antibodies market was valued at $224,083.5 million in 2023 and is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 12.9% between 2023 and 2030. Factors like the increase in research and development activities and the growing demand for therapeutic antibodies are likely to drive the market.
Given the market potential, the latest association is expected to significantly strengthen OPKO Health’s business.
OPKO Health’s Notable Development
In August, OPKO Health reported its second-quarter 2024 results, wherein management confirmed that enrollment was underway in the MDX2001 Phase 1 trial for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. MDX2001 is a tetraspecific antibody designed to optimize T-cell function to stimulate tumor regression while minimizing the likelihood of antigen escape.
Comparison With OPK’s Peers
A notable peer of OPKO Health is Qiagen N.V. (QGEN - Free Report) . This month, QGEN’s bioinformatics business, QIAGEN Digital Insights, announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Neo4j. The collaboration is expected to enable Neo4j Graph Database and Graph Data Science capabilities to integrate more deeply with the QIAGEN Biomedical Knowledge Base product line, thus unlocking hidden patterns and relationships in biomedical data, and revealing powerful new insights to advance drug discovery, drug repurposing and translational research.
Last month, Qiagen announced the launch of the QIAcuityDx Digital PCR (polymerase chain reaction) System, a pivotal addition to its digital PCR portfolio now expanding into clinical diagnostics.
Illumina, Inc. (ILMN - Free Report) is another notable peer of OPKO Health. In August, ILMN announced the FDA’s approval of its in vitro diagnostic TruSight Oncology Comprehensive test and its first two companion diagnostic indications.
The same month, Illumina expanded its oncology menu for NovaSeq X Series customers. ILMN began offering the newly verified high-throughput version of TruSight Oncology 500 (TSO 500 HT), and the latest version of its distributed liquid biopsy research assay, TruSight Oncology 500 ctDNA v2, in recent months.
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (PACB - Free Report) , popularly known as PacBio, is another peer of OPKO Health. This month, PacBio, in collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) and Macrogen, announced the opening of a joint laboratory at A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore in Singapore.
Last month, PACB announced a collaboration with the University Hospital of Münster, to use long-read whole genome sequencing to significantly advance male infertility and rare disease research. By deploying PacBio’s Revio HiFi sequencing system, researchers at Münster will be able to obtain genomic data essential for addressing complex genetic issues associated with male infertility, including the Y chromosome.
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OPK Gets Additional BARDA Funding to Develop Multispecific Antibodies
OPKO Health, Inc.’s (OPK - Free Report) company, ModeX Therapeutics Inc., was awarded $35 million of additional funding under an existing contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday. The funding brings the total support awarded to ModeX to $110 million out of $205 million if all options are executed.
The funding is expected to support the development of a second novel multispecific antibody to SARS-CoV-2 from preclinical through Phase 1 trials, as well as preclinical work on gene-based expression of multispecific antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 including mRNA and/or DNA vectors. Additionally, ModeX will begin the development of influenza multispecifics with gene and/or protein delivery modalities by initiating the second phase of BARDA funding through the activation of a $16 million option.
The funding and advancement of these programs will further explore ModeX’s proprietary MSTAR platform to prepare for outbreaks and respond rapidly to emerging viral threats.
The contract is expected to boost ModeX’s research and development programs related to the multispecific antibodies, thereby solidifying OPKO Health’s foothold in the niche space.
Significance of the Contract to OPKO Health
Influenza-related disease and COVID remain significant public health issues despite the seasonal availability of vaccines. Per OPKO Health, multispecific antibodies have the potential for wider coverage to enable protection against multiple strains of a pathogen and be more resilient against pathogen evolution. OPK believes that gene-based antibody expression represents a new method with the potential to significantly reduce manufacturing costs and allow faster pivoting for new and emerging threats compared with conventional protein-based antibodies.
OPKO Health’s management believes that through its collaboration with BARDA, it expects to develop new medicines to protect the public from existing and emerging infectious disease pathogens.
Industry Prospects in Favor of OPK
Per a report by Coherent Market Insights, the global antibodies market was valued at $224,083.5 million in 2023 and is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 12.9% between 2023 and 2030. Factors like the increase in research and development activities and the growing demand for therapeutic antibodies are likely to drive the market.
Given the market potential, the latest association is expected to significantly strengthen OPKO Health’s business.
OPKO Health’s Notable Development
In August, OPKO Health reported its second-quarter 2024 results, wherein management confirmed that enrollment was underway in the MDX2001 Phase 1 trial for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. MDX2001 is a tetraspecific antibody designed to optimize T-cell function to stimulate tumor regression while minimizing the likelihood of antigen escape.
Comparison With OPK’s Peers
A notable peer of OPKO Health is Qiagen N.V. (QGEN - Free Report) . This month, QGEN’s bioinformatics business, QIAGEN Digital Insights, announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Neo4j. The collaboration is expected to enable Neo4j Graph Database and Graph Data Science capabilities to integrate more deeply with the QIAGEN Biomedical Knowledge Base product line, thus unlocking hidden patterns and relationships in biomedical data, and revealing powerful new insights to advance drug discovery, drug repurposing and translational research.
Last month, Qiagen announced the launch of the QIAcuityDx Digital PCR (polymerase chain reaction) System, a pivotal addition to its digital PCR portfolio now expanding into clinical diagnostics.
Illumina, Inc. (ILMN - Free Report) is another notable peer of OPKO Health. In August, ILMN announced the FDA’s approval of its in vitro diagnostic TruSight Oncology Comprehensive test and its first two companion diagnostic indications.
The same month, Illumina expanded its oncology menu for NovaSeq X Series customers. ILMN began offering the newly verified high-throughput version of TruSight Oncology 500 (TSO 500 HT), and the latest version of its distributed liquid biopsy research assay, TruSight Oncology 500 ctDNA v2, in recent months.
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (PACB - Free Report) , popularly known as PacBio, is another peer of OPKO Health. This month, PacBio, in collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) and Macrogen, announced the opening of a joint laboratory at A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore in Singapore.
Last month, PACB announced a collaboration with the University Hospital of Münster, to use long-read whole genome sequencing to significantly advance male infertility and rare disease research. By deploying PacBio’s Revio HiFi sequencing system, researchers at Münster will be able to obtain genomic data essential for addressing complex genetic issues associated with male infertility, including the Y chromosome.