Twist spins out COVID-19 antibody program, forming startup to advance variant-busting candidate

Twist Bioscience has found a path forward for its COVID-19 antibody program, spinning the project out to form startup Revelar Biotherapeutics and committing to invest up to $10 million in seed funding.

The COVID-19 program grew out of Twist’s work to apply its DNA synthesis platform to the creation of antibody libraries for drug discovery and development. Twist pitches the platform as enabling the customization of every antibody variation and the construction of precise libraries systematically to target entire regions of interest. The platform is complemented by antibody optimization assets.