Acambis signs JE partnership agreement with sanofi pasteur
14 February 2007
Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts – 14 February 2007 – Acambis plc (Acambis) (LSE: ACM) announces a partnership agreement with sanofi pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis Group, for ChimeriVax™-JE, Acambis' single-dose vaccine against Japanese encephalitis (JE).
Under the agreement, Acambis has granted sanofi pasteur marketing, distribution and certain manufacturing rights to ChimeriVax-JE worldwide, excluding India and the Indian subcontinent where Acambis has an existing agreement with Bharat Biotech International Limited, and also excluding the US, for which sanofi pasteur has been granted an option. Sanofi pasteur plans to introduce the new vaccine in Europe and throughout the Asia Pacific region, with particular focus on the large endemic countries, including Thailand and China.
Acambis will receive royalties on sales and payment for the supply of bulk manufactured ChimeriVax-JE product. In addition, it will receive upfront and milestone payments of up to €30 million (c. £20m) following marketing authorisation of ChimeriVax-JE in key endemic countries and in the European Union. Acambis has already established a large-scale manufacturing process at its facility in Canton, MA, US, from which it will supply sanofi pasteur with bulk ChimeriVax-JE vaccine.
Gordon Cameron, Chief Executive Officer of Acambis, commented:
“ChimeriVax-JE has the potential to transform the use of JE vaccines. Sanofi pasteur is a world leader in vaccines and, in our view, the best partner for ChimeriVax-JE. We are looking forward to working with sanofi pasteur to ensure our vaccine reaches those who need it.'
Dave Williams, Chief Executive Officer of sanofi pasteur, commented:
“Sanofi pasteur will further contribute to the fight against a devastating disease by bringing Acambis' innovative JE vaccine to endemic countries. We believe a single-dose vaccine will hold significant advantages for use in routine immunization programmes in a region where several billion people live.'
According to the WHO, approximately 30,000 to 50,000 people suffer from JE annually, mainly in Asia(1). During a recent epidemic in northern India and Nepal, JE killed more than 1,000 people, most of them children(2). An estimated three billion people live in JE-endemic regions, which include Thailand, China, Japan, India and parts of Australia.
Acambis has published positive data from its pivotal Phase 3 safety trial in October 2006. Encouraging data from the blinded pivotal Phase 3 efficacy trial were announced at the same time and the Company intends to publish the unblinded data in the first quarter of 2007. Clinical results show that Acambis' ChimeriVax-JE requires only one dose for adequate protection against JE versus two or three required with other JE vaccines.
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