| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | Nasdaq: ABCL |
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 2012; 12 years ago (2012) |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Revenue | 38 million (2023) |
| Net income |  US -$146 million (2023) |
| Number of employees | 386 (2021) |
| Website | abcellera |
AbCellera Biologics Inc. is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based biotechnology firm that researches and develops human antibodies. The company is best known for its leading role in the Pandemic Prevention Platform, a project of DARPA's Biological Technologies Office. AbCellera utilizes a proprietary technology platform, which they claim can develop "medical countermeasures within 60 days." Its platform for single-cell screening was initially developed at the University of British Columbia.
History
AbCellera was founded in 2012 by biomedical researchers Carl Hansen, Véronique Lecault, Kevin Heyries, Daniel Da Costa and Oleh Petriv. In November 2016, the company received a US$645K grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a test for tuberculosis. In September 2018, a $10M series A round of funding was closed. In May 2020, a $105M series B round of funding was closed.
In January 2017, AbCellera announced that it would be collaborating with Pfizer to discover and develop antibodies against "undisclosed membrane protein targets.”
COVID-19 treatments: initial expansion and subsequent decline
In June 2020, AbCellera announced it had begun the world's first study of a potential antibody treatment against COVID-19, with a Phase 1 trial of LY-CoV555 (Bamlanivimab), in collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company. The drug was granted an Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November 2020, and subsequently renewed in February and March 2021. The EUA was revoked in April 2021, with the FDA citing an updated conclusion that "the known and potential benefits of bamlanivimab alone no longer outweigh the known and potential risks for the product," because of significantly reduced efficacy against emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2.
In September 2021, the company announced a multi-year agreement with Moderna to develop mRNA-based antibody treatments against multiple diseases.
In January 2022, the company received a $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to identify monoclonal antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). A second COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy (Bebtelovimab) was given Emergency Use Authorization in February 2022, with the U.S. Government committing to a $720 million purchase of up to 600,000 doses. However, several months later, the FDA removed the authorization, due to lack of effectiveness.
As of November 2022 following the FDA decision to remove authorization for using Abcellera COVID antibodies, the company has no drugs on the market. As a result of the discontinuation of the COVID antibodies, the stock price subsequently plummeted by over 95% from IPO, with increasing net losses amounting to -$36.9M from Q2 2024.
See also
References
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- "FDA pulls U.S. authorization for Eli Lilly's COVID drug bebtelovimab". Reuters. November 23, 2022.
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