Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.Brii Biosciences (Brii Bio) has entered into an agreement to acquire the intellectual property and other assets related to the Hepatitis B immunotherapeutic candidate, BRII-179 from VBI Vaccines (VBI) and its creditor K2 VBI Equity Trust and K2 HealthVentures.
A Phase IIb study is assessing the sequential treatment of the therapy with elebsiran and PEG-IFNα. Credit: Trnava University on Unsplash.
Subscribe to our email newsletter
This strategic move involves a total payment of $18m and terminates prior agreements with VBI, including future milestone and royalty obligations.
Under the terms of the agreement, Brii Bio is set to obtain complete ownership of the therapy’s patents, materials, and know-how. The transaction also cancels all payment obligations from Brii, except for an outstanding $2.5m promissory note, following the dissolution of VBI’s operations.
Brii Bio CEO and chairman Dr Zhi Hong said: “This transaction ensures us with uninterrupted clinical supply of BRII-179 and complete ownership of its IP. It vests more value of BRII-179 in Brii’s shareholders as we advance to late-stage development.”
The company has initiated several combination studies incorporating BRII-179 to ‘enhance’ the functional cure rate for chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection.
Ongoing research indicates the therapy’s ‘potential’ in detecting subjects more responsive to curative treatments.
A significant Phase IIb study, known as the ENRICH study, is assessing the sequential treatment of the therapy with elebsiran and PEG-IFNα. This study is currently fully enrolled.
BRII-179 is designed to elicit strong B-cell and T-cell immunity by expressing Pre-S1, Pre-S2, and S HBV surface antigens.
Brii Bio originally licensed BRII-179 from VBI Vaccines in December 2018 and has since expanded its exclusive license to global rights as of July 2023.
In a significant regulatory milestone, the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) awarded breakthrough therapy designation to the candidate in November 2023.
