Takis Biotech, a small biotech outfit with only 25 employees based outside Rome, is hard at work on several candidates for a COVID-19 vaccine.
that initial results from the trials were “extremely positive,” with all five candidates showing a strong antibody response to the virus.“Coronavirus is an opportunity [for us] to learn, because COVID-19 will be the first disease we’ve worked with and tried to find a solution for,” says Aurisicchio. “Since our technology is very versatile, it can be adapted for a virus that mutates, like COVID-19…but also for new diseases that emerge from other species.
Most of Takis’ current revenue comes from specialized research services the company provides to other pharmaceutical firms, with clients ranging from Johnson & Johnson’s pharma division Janssen and Italian biomedical firm Alfasigma to Aurisicchio’s former employer, Merck. Beyond its research efforts, the company has also
with partners on treatments for melanoma and veterinary cancer vaccines. While Takis has yet to receive any outside investment, Aurisicchio toldthat the firm — which is owned by Aurisicchio and his fellow cofounders, Giuseppe Roscilli and Emanuele Marra — is in talks with potential investors and venture capitalists from the U.S., France and Switzerland.
Takis is one of a cluster of small biotech companies based in the Rome neighborhood of Castel Romano and the neighboring town of Pomezia. Advent-Irbm, a competitor down the road from Takis in Pomezia, is alsoNo matter who wins the race to develop the first successful COVID-19 vaccine, Aurisicchio is convinced that Takis will emerge stronger and better prepared to fight future outbreaks.
Update, April 21, 2020: Updated at 11:21 am with a new photo provided by Takis Biotech and a minor modification to the fifth paragraph.
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