Under the commercial agreement, the Consortium will explore production of MVA85A using the ProBioGen AGE1.CR.pIXA cell line, which was developed to replace chicken embryonic fibroblasts and chicken eggs as production substrates for vaccines.
The Consortium has recently commenced a Phase IIb clinical trial to evaluate MVA85A in approximately 2,784 children less than one year of age in South Africa. It is expected that the trial will generate important safety, immunogenicity and preliminary efficacy data about the vaccine candidate.
The commercial license includes an upfront payment to ProBioGen as well as development milestone payments and royalties on future sales of the tuberculosis (TB) candidate.
Michael Schlenk, CEO of ProBioGen, said: “ProBioGen is well positioned to provide the Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium a solution to produce their modified vaccinia virus Ankara-based, clinically advanced vaccine. Our proprietary AGE1.CR.pIXA cell line that we have developed in cooperation with our partner IDT Biologics is a new technology that provides outstanding productivity and the highest level of characterization.”