On May 3, 2020, AbCellera announced it had received a commitment of up to $175.6 million in support from the Government of Canada under Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s (ISED) Strategic Innovation Fund.

The funds were used to expand efforts related to the discovery of antibodies for use in drugs to treat COVID-19, and to build technology and manufacturing infrastructure for antibody therapies against future pandemic threats.

AbCellera’s antibody discovery platform was being used to search blood samples of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to aid in the discovery of antibodies that can be used to treat and prevent the disease.