London, United Kingdom (CU)_ RQ Bio emerged from stealth mode and announced its debut as a new UK-based biotechnology firm, after a successful license arrangement with AstraZeneca for its current mAbs against SARS-CoV-2. The London-based firm is committed to developing therapies and preventative medicines based on robust broad-spectrum mAbs to give rapid and long-term immunity for vulnerable individuals who are at risk of serious disease or death from existing, emerging, and new viral diseases.
The RQ Bio management team consists of prominent biotech and pharmaceutical industry professionals with proven competence in complete antibody generation. The firm will continue to collaborate with its scientific co-founders, the University of Oxford and premier UK medical research charity LifeArc, to enhance and expedite patient benefit. Professor Gavin Screaton, Head of the Medical Sciences Division at the University of Oxford, will continue to advice in his position as scientific and medical co-founder, and Clare Terlouw, Head of LifeArc Ventures and UK BIA board member, and as a member of the Board of Directors, will also support the firm.
Hugo Fry, CEO of RQ Bio, said, “Our vision is to build on our successful debut with neutralizing antibody therapy for SARS-CoV-2 and develop innovative medicines to address current and evolving unmet needs in other viral infectious diseases”. He added, “By combining our expertise and innovative excellence in core areas we have created a smarter approach to antibody generation making us uniquely positioned to deliver fast patient impact.”
Clare Terlouw, Head of LifeArc Ventures, said, “LifeArc is committed to backing leading UK academics and scientists, and we were inspired to fund RQ Bio because of the exceptional group of founders who are so passionately dedicated to finding new treatments and preventative therapies in areas of high unmet patient need”. He added, “LifeArc provided support from across the Charity, including the venture team, scientific labs and other in-house experts to help RQ Bio execute on its business plan, and we look forward to further supporting RQ Bio as it becomes a world-leading infectious disease company.”
