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news.hVIVO has unveiled a joint venture (JV) investment with the SEEK Group for the development of vaccines against influenza and mosquito-borne diseases like the Zika virus and other flaviviruses.
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The JV will invest in a new company to be called Imutex. It will boost hVIVO’s commercial flu portfolio and expand its operations into mosquito-borne diseases, with the immediate focus on Zika.
Imutex will use universal flu technology licensed from SEEK to develop a spectrum vaccine, dubbed FLU-v, against several flu strains.
FLU-v targets conserved internal proteins common to all flu viruses to activate T and B-cells, which are important parts of the human immune system response.
Working the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Imutex will use the hVIVO platform to undertake a phase IIa clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of FLU-v novel vaccine.
Imutex will use mosquito-borne disease vaccine technology licensed from SEEK for the development of a novel Zika vaccine.
The vaccine will have a proposed dual action mechanism, with an intention to avoid infection in humans and also control the mosquito population.
hVIVO will buy a 49% equity stake in Imutex for £7m in cash. The remaining 51% interest will be owned by SEEK.
SEEK will contract hVIVO Services to carry out a FLU-v phase 2a clinical study in 2016. hVIVO will get £5.5m for undertaking the study.
hVIVO CEO Kym Denny said: "Addressing flu’s unmet medical need is a key strategic driver for hVIVO and this collaboration allows us to advance that objective whilst simultaneously broadening our reach into the adjacent therapeutic area of mosquito-borne diseases."