Vaxxas raises US$23 million (A$34 million) to develop needle-free vaccines, including a COVID-19 vaccine candidate of the next generation

Vaccines

Vaxxas raises US$23 million (A$34 million) to develop needle-free vaccines, including a COVID-19 vaccine candidate of the next generation

Excerpt

Vaxxas will advance numerous vaccination programmes in the clinic and build up manufacturing resources for commercial production.

More than US$67 million (A$100 million) in non-dilutive financial support has been provided and pledged via contracts with US and Australian government agencies, industry partners, and international health organisations. Equity investment is being used to leverage this support.

OneVentures and UniQuest Pty Ltd. lead the investment round, with the Vaxxas Board of Directors and management providing further assistance.

Article Summary

Vaxxas, a clinical-stage biotechnology firm commercialising a cutting-edge vaccination platform, announced today that it has successfully closed a funding round in which it raised US$23 million (A$34 million) in fresh capital. OneVentures and UniQuest Pty Ltd, who had previously invested, took the lead in this round of financing. The Vaxxas Board of Directors, the management group, and several private investors are among the new investors.

The financing’s proceeds will be used to advance Vaxxas’ clinical programmes, including the development of the needle-free COVID-19 vaccine candidate, as well as to install the company’s first production lines, which will enable it to support the development of its initial products through late-stage clinical trials and early commercial production.

The financing will accelerate the clinical program for Vaxxas’ COVID-19 vaccine patch candidate which is currently in Phase I clinical trials and is based upon the company’s proprietary HD-MAP delivery of HexaPro, a second-generation version of the spike protein used in all major US-approved COVID-19 vaccines. Results from preclinical animal studies of HD-MAP delivered HexaPro published in Science Advances, showed the potential efficacy of this COVID-19 vaccine patch against all currently known variants of concern.

The non-dilutive financial support of over US$67 million (A$100 million) that has been given to Vaxxas under contracts with US and Australian government agencies, including the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), industry collaborators, and global health organisations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will be leveraged by this new funding of US$23 million (A$34 million).

Source: Vaxxas