Evaxion Biotech ( EVAX ) signed an agreement with ExpreS 2 ion Biotech's affiliate ExpreS 2 ion Biotechnologies to jointly develop a novel cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine candidate.
CMV is a common virus and a healthy person's immune system usually keeps the virus from causing illness. However, for people with weakened immune system, especially those who have had an organ transplant, the infection can cause severe symptoms.
During the discovery phase, Evaxion will use its proprietary AI platform RAVEN to design a next-generation vaccine candidate that elicits cellular and humoral/antibody responses. The antigen constructs from the AI platform will be produced by ExpreS 2 ion in the company's ExpreS2 platform, followed by assessments in Evaxion's preclinical models.
The joint discovery project will be included in Evaxion’s development pipeline under EVX-V1, according to the companies.
Under the agreement, ExpreS 2 ion will have the exclusive right to license the CMV vaccine candidate under a potential development and commercialization agreement.
The research and intellectual property licensing costs will be divided equally between the companies until 2025, with all costs expected to be contained in each company's existing operating expenses.
A potential future development and commercialization agreement is expected to include an upfront payment and future milestone payments to Evaxion from ExpreS 2 ion not exceeding a six-digit USD, plus royalty.
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Evaxion, ExpreS²ion team up to develop cytomegalovirus vaccine