In February, Novartis and Molecular Partners applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a new class of multispecific biologic for treating COVID-19. The partners filed for approval with the US Food and Drug Administration on the basis of positive phase 2 trial results obtained with the multivalent DARPin ensovibep. Of 407 symptomatic patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, those receiving a single infusion had lower viral loads after eight days than those on placebo. The drug also reduced the risk of hospitalizations by 78%. DARPins (designed ankyrin repeat proteins) are protein scaffold biologics, engineered to have advantages over conventional antibodies. Each module is a tenth the size of a monoclonal antibody, and it is possible to string DARPins with peptide linkers to form agents that bind multiple targets with high affinity and specificity. Ensovibep contains three covalently attached domains that bind to the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This trispecific structure, the company believes, will retain binding ability even when there are changes in the viral spike protein — the site used by the virus to enter host cells and whose mutation can lead to viral escape. This is welcome news for Molecular Partners, whose DARPin targeting vascular endothelial growth factor for macular degeneration, abicipar pegol, was rejected in 2020 by the US FDA due to concerns over intraocular inflammation. Ensovibep will face competition from other antivirals; in December the FDA granted EUA to Pfizer’s antiviral treatment Paxlovid, the orally available protease inhibitor nirmatrelvir given with ritonavir to slow its breakdown.

Credit: Adapted from Stumpp, M. T., Dawson, K. M. & Binz, H. K. BioDrugs 34, 423–433 (2020) under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.