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VaxInnate Corporation Closes $30 Million
Round of Financing; Wellcome Trust Leads Round
Emerging swine flu among targets for development of novel
Vaccines
CRANBURY, NJ, May 6, 2009 – VaxInnate Corporation, a
biotechnology company pioneering breakthrough technology that
could dramatically improve the potency, manufacturing capacity
and cost effectiveness of vaccines, today announced the closing
of $30 million in new Series D financing, led by its newest
investor, The Wellcome Trust. New Leaf Venture Partners, Canaan
Partners, HealthCare Ventures, Oxford Bioscience Partners,
MedImmune Ventures and CHL Medical Ventures, representing all
existing shareholders, also participated in the financing.
The funds will be used for the development of the company’s
vaccines for infectious diseases that include influenza, human
papillomavirus (HPV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and
dengue. Specifically, the Company plans to fund several clinical
trials, including a Phase II clinical trial of its M2e universal
flu vaccine and a Phase I clinical trial of its seasonal flu
vaccine in an elderly population.
VaxInnate is already working on a prototype swine flu vaccine
that could be available for preclinical animal studies in as
early as six weeks. If successful, VaxInnate’s swine flu vaccine
could be manufactured in a matter of weeks and at volumes
sufficient to rapidly meet global vaccination needs.
“We’re delighted to add The Wellcome Trust to our roster of
shareholders and gratified to see our investors’ continuing
interest in VaxInnate,” said CEO Alan Shaw, PhD. “The additional
funding will make it possible for us to continue advancing our
flu vaccines forward to market and to support the application of
our technology platform to vaccines for other infectious
diseases, among them HPV, RSV and the emerging swine flu.”
The Wellcome Trust is the world’s largest medical research
charity and the largest charity in the United Kingdom. The
Wellcome Trust funds innovative biomedical research in the UK
and internationally to produce knowledge that can be used to
protect and improve human and animal health, investing more than
£600 million annually to support the brightest scientists with
the best ideas.
“Wellcome is very pleased to support the development of
VaxInnate’s proprietary technology and innovative vaccines,
having recognized both the scientific validation and the
commercial value of its approach,” said Julie Eskay-Eagle of The
Wellcome Trust.
Eskay-Eagle, who heads the healthcare team for The Wellcome
Trust’s investment division, joined the VaxInnate Board of
Directors.
“We believe VaxInnate’s paradigm-shifting vaccine technology
platform is positioned to address key challenges in the
marketplace at a time when industry, government and the public
sector are working together to improve our ability to meet
global health needs,” said Board member Seth Berkley, MD,
president and founder of the International AIDS Vaccine
Initiative (IAVI) and a specialist in infectious disease,
epidemiology and international health. “We welcome Julie Eskay-Eagle
to the VaxInnate Board and look forward to benefiting from her
experience and counsel.”
About VaxInnate
VaxInnate is a privately-held biotechnology company in Cranbury,
NJ that is pioneering breakthrough technology for use in
developing novel and proprietary vaccines. VaxInnate’s
technology has the potential to dramatically improve the
potency, manufacturing capacity and cost-effectiveness of
vaccines.
VaxInnate’s first vaccines focus on infectious diseases,
including seasonal and pandemic flu, malaria, dengue, human
papillomavirus and respiratory syncytial virus. In 2008 and
2009, VaxInnate generated positive Phase I clinical data for its
first two vaccines, a universal flu vaccine and a seasonal flu
vaccine. For more information about VaxInnate, please visit
http://www.vaxinnate.com.
Contact
Janet Skidmore
Office: 215-658-4915
Mobile: 215-429-2917
skidmorecomm @earthlink.net
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