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VaxInnate's License Agreement with Emergent BioSolutions Improves U.S. Preparedness for Potential Flu Pandemics
CRANBURY, N.J. --(Business Wire)--
A license agreement for the manufacture and sale of VaxInnate
Corporation's recombinant flu vaccine by Emergent BioSolutions is a step
toward helping the United States be better prepared in the event of an
influenza pandemic. VaxInnate is a biotechnology firm pioneering
breakthrough technology for the development of novel vaccines.
Under the terms of the license agreement, VaxInnate grants Emergent the
right to manufacture and sell VaxInnate's pandemic recombinant flu
vaccine in the U.S. Emergent will produce VaxInnate's novel vaccine
under a contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), designating Emergent as a Center for Innovation in
Advanced Development and Manufacturing.
VaxInnate will receive milestone payments and royalties associated with
the development, production and sale of the pandemic flu vaccine.
VaxInnate's own 2011 contract with BARDA, which funds the company's use
of recombinant technology to develop pandemic and seasonal flu vaccines,
is valued at up to $196 million over five years. The selection of
VaxInnate by BARDA was based on the company's ability to harness
recombinant technology to produce vaccines that are highly efficient,
well-characterized biopharmaceutical proteins.
These vaccines can be produced cost-effectively and rapidly -- in less
than half the time of current vaccine manufacturing technology -- making
them potent weapons for preventing the spread of influenza.
"Past flu pandemics underscored the need for new vaccines that can be
produced rapidly and in large quantities in order to protect the
American people," said Wayne Pisano, VaxInnate's President and CEO.
"This areement combines the innovative flu vaccine being developed by
VaxInnate with the manufacturing expertise of Emergent.
"We're pleased to expand our partnership with BARDA and to begin a new
one with Emergent," Pisano added. "Together we can make significant
progress in preparing the U.S. for the next pandemic flu."
Pandemic Flu
An�influenza pandemic�is an epidemic of an�influenza�virus that spreads
on a worldwide scale and infects a large proportion of the�human
population. In contrast to the annual seasonal flu, pandemics occur
irregularly and range in severity.
The first influenza epidemic of the 21st Century occurred in
2009-2010 and involved a new subtype of Influenza A virus subtype H1N1,
or swine flu. It affected nearly 200 countries, caused a half million
illnesses and killed 6,000 persons. Other flu pandemics occurred in
1957-1958, 1968-1969 and 1977-1978.
The most serious influenza pandemic in recent history occurred in
1918-1919, during the closing days of World War I, and killed an
estimated 20 to 50 million people worldwide. Today, considering a world
population that has more than tripled to 6 billion people and air travel
to every corner of the globe, experts say that the toll of a pandemic
flu could be as high as 100 million people and have a profound impact on
the world economy.
About VaxInnate
VaxInnate is a privately-held biotechnology company in Cranbury, NJ that
is pioneering�breakthrough
technology for use in developing novel and proprietary vaccines.
VaxInnate's vaccines focus on infectious diseases, including seasonal
and pandemic flu, dengue, malaria, and Clostridium difficile.
VaxInnate's technology has the potential to dramatically improve the
potency, manufacturing capacity and cost-effectiveness of vaccines.
In 2011, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA),
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), awarded
a contract
to VaxInnate worth up to $196 million over five years to fund the
development of seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines using recombinant
technology.
VaxInnate has already generated positive Phase I and Phase II clinical
data for its flu vaccines. These prototype seasonal and pandemic flu
vaccines were also demonstrated to have superior potency in elderly
subjects. For more information about VaxInnate, please visit http://www.vaxinnate.com
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