Xencor licences Xtend XmAb technology to Vir Biotech for COVID-19 research

USA-based biotech Xencor (Nasdaq: XNCR) has entered into a technology license agreement with Vir Biotechnology (Nasdaq: VIR), in which Vir will have non-exclusive access to Xencor’s Xtend Fc technology to extend the half-life of novel antibodies that Vir is investigating as potential treatments for patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Commercial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed, but Xencor’s shares were up 5.3% at $30.30 in early trading, while Vir was down 5.3% at $29.68.

“The COVID-19 crisis requires urgent and coordinated action by the biotechnology industry to develop new drugs and vaccines. Xtend Fc technology has demonstrated, in multiple antibodies and through numerous human clinical trials, the ability to extend antibody drug half-life and reduce dosing frequency in patients, an important feature in anti-viral therapy for pandemic use,” said Bassil Dahiyat, president and chief executive at Xencor.