Twist Bioscience, Eleven Therapeutics Create Synthetic Viral RNA Molecules To Develop Antiviral Vaccines, Therapeutics

Twist Bioscience Corp TWST and Eleven Therapeutics have created a replicon tool that could be used for studying viral genome replication, antiviral drug screening, and vaccine & therapeutic development.

• Replicons are synthetic viral RNA molecules that mimic viruses in their ability to replicate but have been engineered to remove the portion of the genome that causes harm (infectiousness). 
• Replicon systems have been used to mimic RNA viruses including Zika, Dengue, and SARS-CoV-1 to facilitate therapeutics' safe and rapid development.
• Also See: Twist Bioscience Clocks ~50% Jump In Q1 Sales, Lifts FY22 Revenue Guidance.
• Through a publication on bioRxiv, the teams demonstrated the development of a safe and efficient SARS-CoV-2 replicon-generating engine.
• The teams retained 97% of the viral genome but eliminated any infectivity properties of SARS-CoV-2. 
• Researchers can use this replicon to study viral activity without patient samples or the risk of handling live viruses.
• Price Action: TWST shares are trading 6.08% higher at $63.12 during the market session on the last check Monday.