Synermore, a pharmaceuticals unicorn in SIP, recently announced that its SYN023, a mixture of two anti-rabies humanized monoclonal antibodies, will soon enter the Phase IIb/III multicenter clinical trial across the globe. Concurrently, the company revealed that, after simplified Phase I and II domestic clinical trials based on data gained from the overseas experiments, the new drug is expected to come into the market in 2021.

SYN-023 is developed for use in humans following exposures to the rabies viruses. The proposed mechanism of action is for the mAbs to bind to the rabies virus, which results in virus neutralization in a manner similar to an immune response producing neutralizing antibodies. It is a good supplement to rabies vaccines.

"SYN-023 has proved to be effective in neutralizing more than 15 common rabies virus isolates collected in China and 35 from other countries and regions," the company's founder Dr. Eric I Tsao said, adding that the new invention was identified as an "orphan drug" by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2015 and will possibly become the world's first antibody combination against rabies viruses.