Sorrento Therapeutics

[james22]

I see no discussion of this?

 

Later Friday, Sorrento Therapeutics will announce their discovery of the STI-1499 antibody, which the San Diego company said can provide "100% inhibition" of COVID-19, adding that a treatment could be available months before a vaccine hits the market.

 

"We want to emphasize there is a cure. There is a solution that works 100 percent," Dr. Henry Ji, founder and CEO of Sorrento Therapeutics, told Fox News. "If we have the neutralizing antibody in your body, you don't need the social distancing. You can open up a society without fear."

 

...

 

"When the antibody prevents a virus from entering a human cell, the virus cannot survive," Dr. Ji said. "If they cannot get into the cell, they cannot replicate. So it means that if we prevent the virus from getting the cell, the virus eventually dies out. The body clears out that virus."

 

"This puts its arms around the virus. It wraps around the virus and moves them out of the body."

 

Dr. Ji pointed out that the antibody can be used as preventative therapy since there are no side effects, and that it can be more effective than any vaccine that may be developed.

 

"This is the best solution," he said. "The point of making a vaccine is to generalize a neutralizing antibody. So, if you already have one, you don't need to the body to generate one from a vaccine. You've already provided it. You're cutting out the middleman."

 

https://www.foxnews.com/science/covid-cure-california-biopharmaceutical-coronavirus-antibody-breakthrough.amp

[james22]

"Given the very effective data that we've seen, how potent this antibody is, we are very confident this could actually work out," said. Dr. Mark Brunswick from Sorrento Therapeutics.

 

They haven't tested it on humans yet, but they plan to use this antibody with a combination of a few others to provide a cocktail that could work on people if the virus mutates.

 

"So, if the virus mutates, you have different angles with different antibodies attached to it, so that way one of the mutations, one of the antibody, the other two still works," said Dr. Henry Ji from Sorrento.

 

Sorrento plans to start ramping up production, but some scientists caution only 10% of drugs that enter clinical trials get approved by the FDA.

 

...

 

Sorrento hopes to have an application to submit to the FDA by the end of the year for approval.

 

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/antibody-effective-at-blocking-coronavirus-from-human-cells-sorrento-therapeutics/2326358/

[Gregmal]

Yea..... I truly hope this is legit, but this company, given its history and the folks associated... I'd bet we see a secondary real soon. Every biotech/pharma company in the world has realized they can raise millions at significantly better valuations simply by mentioning a potential COVID product. Not dissimilar from yesteryears "blockchain" and "CBD/cannabis" booms.

[mloub]

Yeah, this is on the face of it bunk. Here are the reasons why:

 

1) An antibody is a protein that is unstable. (For a great analogue, take a look at Humira, an antibody that is used to treat inflammatory diseases like Crohns). Because it is unstable, it needs to be refrigerated, has a short shelf-life, and needs to be injected (it can't survive the digestive system) frequently as its effect wears off. 

 

2) Antibodies that you inject are ultimately cleared by your body and so they only have a temporary effect (think weeks) versus a vaccine which confers active immunity for years. Antibodies are used as a treatment, for example, when someone who is not immune to tetanus is exposed to it. They get the antibody to get them over the acute exposure. Then the body clears the antibodies and then they are back to square one, only in the meantime hopefully the antibodies gave them some short term protection. Now people generally know when they are exposed to Tetatnus - "Doc I just stepped on a rusty nail!" - but Covid-19 exposure is often invisible. How do we make sure the right people get the antibody in time?

 

3) Antibodies are very hard to produce at scale. You essentially have to set up these bioreactors of genetically altered cells that spit out these antibodies. It is very finicky and any contamination at any step in the process destroys the whole line. Think of the clean rooms for manufacturing microprocessors, only harder.

 

4) This antibody has not been tested on humans yet, apparently. (Should have listed this as point 1). This is not a small deal. Antibodies bind to proteins and either gum up how those proteins work (like Humira) or help target them for destruction by the immune system. There is a lot that can go wrong between seeing this binding effect in a lab culture and having it work as expected in a human. There are a limited number of proteins in a lab culture, in a human there are all sorts of proteins hanging around that can screw things up. "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip". These guys aren't even in the same room as the lip yet.

 

So with 1-4, I would be very wary of promotional claims like this - "Given the very effective data that we've seen, how potent this antibody is, we are very confident this could actually work out".

 

But you know, hucksters be huckstering.

 

M.

 

[keerthiprasad]

This is more theoretical than anything. The verbiage they have used is very misleading.

 

issues:

-preclinical data only.

-production is not easy

-delivery mechanism

 

 

[Guest cherzeca]

SRNE up 150% Friday.

[Guest cherzeca]

Yeah, this is on the face of it bunk. Here are the reasons why:

 

1) An antibody is a protein that is unstable. (For a great analogue, take a look at Humira, an antibody that is used to treat inflammatory diseases like Crohns). Because it is unstable, it needs to be refrigerated, has a short shelf-life, and needs to be injected (it can't survive the digestive system) frequently as its effect wears off. 

 

2) Antibodies that you inject are ultimately cleared by your body and so they only have a temporary effect (think weeks) versus a vaccine which confers active immunity for years. Antibodies are used as a treatment, for example, when someone who is not immune to tetanus is exposed to it. They get the antibody to get them over the acute exposure. Then the body clears the antibodies and then they are back to square one, only in the meantime hopefully the antibodies gave them some short term protection. Now people generally know when they are exposed to Tetatnus - "Doc I just stepped on a rusty nail!" - but Covid-19 exposure is often invisible. How do we make sure the right people get the antibody in time?

 

3) Antibodies are very hard to produce at scale. You essentially have to set up these bioreactors of genetically altered cells that spit out these antibodies. It is very finicky and any contamination at any step in the process destroys the whole line. Think of the clean rooms for manufacturing microprocessors, only harder.

 

4) This antibody has not been tested on humans yet, apparently. (Should have listed this as point 1). This is not a small deal. Antibodies bind to proteins and either gum up how those proteins work (like Humira) or help target them for destruction by the immune system. There is a lot that can go wrong between seeing this binding effect in a lab culture and having it work as expected in a human. There are a limited number of proteins in a lab culture, in a human there are all sorts of proteins hanging around that can screw things up. "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip". These guys aren't even in the same room as the lip yet.

 

So with 1-4, I would be very wary of promotional claims like this - "Given the very effective data that we've seen, how potent this antibody is, we are very confident this could actually work out".

 

But you know, hucksters be huckstering.

 

M.

 

thanks for this.  however, I dont see 1. as being a big problem.  everyone with RA that is successfully treated by biologics (millions of people) get injections or self inject every week or two weeks, with delivery of medicine in cold packs and keeping medicine in fridges.  this is no big deal.  as well, the manufacture of these biologics is a difficult process, but not so difficult so as to prevent pumping out millions of doses.  as you say, this dosing would have to be repeated, but I could see this as being a complement to various other therapies/vaccines being worked on...assuming that this is not a big scam

[Spekulatius]

The first line Ebola treatment is an antibody treatment from Regeneron. It roughly halved the mortality.

https://investor.regeneron.com/news-releases/news-release-details/new-england-journal-medicine-publishes-results-ebola-clinical

There is a long way from preclinical to a treatment on the Market.

[bskptkl]

Yea..... I truly hope this is legit, but this company, given its history and the folks associated... I'd bet we see a secondary real soon. Every biotech/pharma company in the world has realized they can raise millions at significantly better valuations simply by mentioning a potential COVID product. Not dissimilar from yesteryears "blockchain" and "CBD/cannabis" booms.

According to Almost Daily Grant's Commentary:

 

As for Sorrento, the company filed a shelf registration on April 27 allowing it to sell $250 million worth of shares into the open market “from time to time.” 

[mloub]

Yeah, this is on the face of it bunk. Here are the reasons why:

 

1) An antibody is a protein that is unstable. (For a great analogue, take a look at Humira, an antibody that is used to treat inflammatory diseases like Crohns). Because it is unstable, it needs to be refrigerated, has a short shelf-life, and needs to be injected (it can't survive the digestive system) frequently as its effect wears off. 

 

2) Antibodies that you inject are ultimately cleared by your body and so they only have a temporary effect (think weeks) versus a vaccine which confers active immunity for years. Antibodies are used as a treatment, for example, when someone who is not immune to tetanus is exposed to it. They get the antibody to get them over the acute exposure. Then the body clears the antibodies and then they are back to square one, only in the meantime hopefully the antibodies gave them some short term protection. Now people generally know when they are exposed to Tetatnus - "Doc I just stepped on a rusty nail!" - but Covid-19 exposure is often invisible. How do we make sure the right people get the antibody in time?

 

3) Antibodies are very hard to produce at scale. You essentially have to set up these bioreactors of genetically altered cells that spit out these antibodies. It is very finicky and any contamination at any step in the process destroys the whole line. Think of the clean rooms for manufacturing microprocessors, only harder.

 

4) This antibody has not been tested on humans yet, apparently. (Should have listed this as point 1). This is not a small deal. Antibodies bind to proteins and either gum up how those proteins work (like Humira) or help target them for destruction by the immune system. There is a lot that can go wrong between seeing this binding effect in a lab culture and having it work as expected in a human. There are a limited number of proteins in a lab culture, in a human there are all sorts of proteins hanging around that can screw things up. "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip". These guys aren't even in the same room as the lip yet.

 

So with 1-4, I would be very wary of promotional claims like this - "Given the very effective data that we've seen, how potent this antibody is, we are very confident this could actually work out".

 

But you know, hucksters be huckstering.

 

M.

 

thanks for this.  however, I dont see 1. as being a big problem.  everyone with RA that is successfully treated by biologics (millions of people) get injections or self inject every week or two weeks, with delivery of medicine in cold packs and keeping medicine in fridges.  this is no big deal.  as well, the manufacture of these biologics is a difficult process, but not so difficult so as to prevent pumping out millions of doses.  as you say, this dosing would have to be repeated, but I could see this as being a complement to various other therapies/vaccines being worked on...assuming that this is not a big scam

 

Agreed, Humira is a great drug. But all the issues I outlined in (1) means it costs about $3,000 per month. That might work for a relatively rare disease affecting less than one percent of the population, but scaling it would be very hard. The typical vaccine on the other hand costs less than $100 per dose.

 

With Ebola, it was the vaccine that turned the tide, not these biologics. The Ebola vaccine is 97.5% effective at a fraction of the cost. More importantly it prevents the disease. The Ebola biologics only treat you after you get it.

https://www.statnews.com/2019/04/12/the-data-are-clear-ebola-vaccine-shows-very-impressive-performance-in-outbreak/

 

All of which is moot, because Sorrento's "treatment" is only effective at blocking binding in cell cultures. It has not been tested in Humans and there is a long way to go to prove its efficacy. You'd think we would have learned to reserve judgement after Chloroquine, and Remdesivir, but why not. Everyone is desparate, let's add $2bn in market cap to this textbook pump and dump name.

 

M.

 

[scorpioncapital]

People don't get a respiratory Infection everyday. And after you get it you're immune for a while. And furthermore some will recover naturally, like the young. Therefore I see an antibody as a perfect treatment when and if you get covid , and also without any of the risks of vaccination. Vaccination is good for extremely dangerous viruses. But covid is something like Flu+.

 

[james22]

"I suggest extreme skepticism regarding any claims made by Sorrento (NASDAQ:SRNE)," one former employee tells Hindenburg Research. "I would never in my life have put out a press release where I say we have a cure," says a former executive.

 

Hindenburg claims the company was nearly out of cash and facing solvency concerns ahead of its COVID-19 cure announcement.

 

Hindenburg: "We believe that Sorrento’s actions are manipulative at the worst possible time and simply amount to an attempt to shamelessly profiteer off the pandemic."

 

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3576349-sorrento-down-another-15-hindenburg-shorts