The results of the preclinical study show the potential of ImmunoPrecise's antibody cocktail to provide strong antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2 in both prophylactic and treatment settings. TATX-03 incorporates multiple antibodies that recognize different, nonoverlapping epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

The candidate also has the potential to prevent mutational escape. The company has confirmed that interaction of two out of three tested antibodies from the TATX-03 cocktail with the South African (B.1.351) and U.K. (B.1.1.7) SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants is not compromised.

When administered as a single dose to hamsters that had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the antibody cocktail cleared the lungs of detectable replication-competent virus in 100% of the infected hamsters by day four post-infection. The study also found undetectable levels of the virus titer in 100% of infected hamster throats three days after infection.

Alternatively, a single dose of the antibody cocktail 24 hours prior to infection with SARS-CoV-2 resulted in reduction of replication-competent virus titer to undetectable levels in the lungs of four out of five hamsters by day four. The remaining animal had virus levels only just above the lowest level of detection.

The company plans to conduct investigational new drug-enabling studies, including a nonhuman primate, dose-dependent evaluation of the TATX-03 antibody cocktail, later in quarter two of 2021. Upon successful completion of this study, ImmunoPrecise intends to move the candidate to clinical evaluation.