On Nov. 27, 2020, SmartPharm Therapeutics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sorrento Therapeutics, announced that it had been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) co-funded by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense to develop a rapid countermeasure to COVID-19.

The contract provided SmartPharm up to $34 million for development through Phase 2 clinical studies of a gene-encoded antibody that could enable rapid protection from and/or treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19.