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news.Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines business of the Sanofi-Aventis Group, has agreed to acquire exclusive worldwide rights to Emergent BioSolutions' proprietary proteins and related technology for the development of a novel meningitis B vaccine.
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Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will jointly evaluate and develop a pool of Emergent BioSolution’s proprietary antigens as the basis of a multivalent subunit vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis infection.
Emergent BioSolutions identified these protein candidates using its patented Signature-Tagged Mutagenesis (STM) functional genomics technology in combination with functional proteomics techniques.
Emergent BioSolutions will have primary responsibility for product development activities through phase I clinical trials. Sanofi Pasteur will have primary responsibility for product development activities from initiation of phase II studies through to regulatory approval, and for all commercialization activities including worldwide sales and marketing.
Sanofi Pasteur has already paid Emergent BioSolutions an upfront license fee of E3 million and agreement terms provide for additional payments, including significant milestone payments along the development cycle and royalties on eventual products sales.
The companies are targeting a major unmet public health need as current vaccines do not provide protection against serogroup B meningitis.