(Bloomberg) -- U.K. pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc is joining dozens of companies in the hunt for therapies to treat the illness caused by the coronavirus, signing a partnership with Vir Biotechnology Inc. and agreeing to invest $250 million in the U.S. company.

Glaxo and Vir will work together to find new anti-viral antibodies that could be used to treat or prevent Covid-19, the British drugmaker said in a statement Monday. The companies are planning to move two antibody candidates straight into mid-stage trials in three to five months, subject to regulatory approval, Glaxo said.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that multiple therapeutic approaches, used in combination or in sequence, will be necessary to stop this coronavirus pandemic,” said Vir’s Chief Executive Officer George Scangos. “It is likely that the current coronavirus outbreak will not be the last.”

Glaxo and Vir are also looking at potential vaccines for Covid-19, as well as treatments and vaccines for other coronaviruses. Any approved treatments would still be many months, if not years, away. The partnership will be the first time the two companies have officially worked together.

The pact is the latest investment Glaxo is making in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The company formed a research partnership on a potential vaccine with Clover Biopharmaceuticals, a Chinese company, in February, and is also working with AstraZeneca Plc and the U.K. government to set up a lab to explore new ways of testing for the virus to help overcome shortages of diagnostic materials, a person familiar with the plans said.

The equity investment is priced at $37.73 a share, GSK said. Vir shares, which closed at $29 on Friday, surged by about one-third in premarket trading Monday.

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