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Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, on Monday said it has got a licence from US-based Adagio Therapeutics for an antibody therapy to treat and prevent COVID-19, for India and select markets.

Adagio Therapeutics has granted an exclusive licence to the company to manufacture and commercialise an antibody treatment based on ADG20 for India and select emerging markets, Biocon Biologics said in a statement.

“ADG20, a novel monoclonal antibody targeting the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses, is in global clinical development by Adagio as a single agent for both the treatment and prevention of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, its variants, as well as future variants that may emerge,” it added.

Initial data indicate that ADG20 could provide both rapid and durable protection against COVID-19 for up to one year, Biocon Biologics said.

With its potential to address resistant variants, including the Delta variant, and its ability to be administered easily as a single, intramuscular injection in the outpatient setting, ADG20 is uniquely poised to address the current need for an effective, safe, and convenient therapy for COVID-19, it added.

“We are very proud to partner with Adagio in our shared mission to provide affordable access to a best-in-class antibody therapy for people affected by SARS-CoV-2,” Biocon Biologics Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said.

This partnership with Adagio, “aligns our joint vision of bringing superior biologic therapies to millions of patients in low and middle income countries”, she added.

Biocon Biologics has a comprehensive COVID-19 portfolio that addresses the needs of patients at different stages of the disease spectrum – mild, moderate, severe, and critical, the statement said.

During the pandemic in India, over 50,000 patients benefited from its COVID-19 drugs that included Remdesevir, Itolizumab, and Cytosorb, it added.

Adagio plans to seek Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) in the US as early as the first quarter of 2022. Under the terms of the deal, Biocon Biologics will get access to the clinical and nonclinical data from Adagio’s EUA submission to the US Food and Drug Administration to seek approvals in the emerging markets, the statement said.