ExpreS2ion’s joint venture AdaptVac receives SEK 3.6 million grant for vaccine to reduce antibiotic usage in pigs
ExpreS2ion Biotech Holding AB (“ExpreS2ion”) announces that its joint venture AdaptVac ApS (“AdaptVac”) has been awarded approx. SEK 3.6 million by the Danish Innovation Foundation for its participation in a vaccine project aimed at preventing post-weaning diarrhea (PWD), a major cause of antibiotic use in the swine industry.
The project has been awarded a Grand Solutions grant worth DKK 11 million (SEK 15.2 million) in total, of which DKK 5 million (SEK 6.9 million) supports virus-like particle (VLP) platform technology development with DKK 2.6 million (SEK 3.6 million) earmarked to support a four-year VLP vaccine research program at AdaptVac.
The goal of the project is to be able to protect pigs from PWD with the use of a simple needle injection, eliminating the need for costly and health-adverse antibiotic use.
"AdaptVac's innovative vaccine technology has already shown great potential during preclinical testing of human vaccines. For this reason and on the basis of having established a unique consortium of partners with different areas of expertise, we expect this research program to provide the first positive clinical data with great value for the swine industry”, says Dr. Adam F Sander, CSO in AdaptVac.
“This project will add valuable and non-dilutive resources to AdaptVac’s efforts to build a strong project pipeline while at the same time enhance its innovative VLP technology. The grant also gives further credibility to the platform’s ground-breaking potential to alter the way in which we protect humans and animals from major health threats and diseases,” says ExpreS2ion’s CEO Dr. Steen Klysner.
The need for a PWD vaccine Post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) is a worldwide economic burden to pig production, a major disease with welfare consequences, and a main reason for use of antimicrobials. Currently, there are no effective vaccines that prevent against this disease. It has been estimated to account for 17 % of reported deaths in the European swine industry. Treatment of PWD in the short 7-week post-weaning period accounts for more than 1/3 of antimicrobial use for animals in Denmark. Zinc oxide is currently used to reduce the problem, but according to EU regulations, this practice must be phased out by 2022. There is an urgent need to find sustainable ways to prevent PWD in pigs. Failure to do so will reduce productivity and increase the use of antimicrobials.
Market potential AdaptVac estimates that an effective PWD vaccine would reach accumulated net sales of EUR 100 million within five years after being launched on the market. Based on this, the expected value from royalties and milestones to AdaptVac would be in the double digit million DKK range during this period.
About the grant consortium The consortium consists of members from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen (Department for Veterinary and Animal Sciences, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology (ISIM)), AdaptVac and SEGES (the merger of the former Knowledge Centre for Agriculture and the Danish Pig Research Centre).
See release from the Danish Innovationsfonden at
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Sedermera Fondkommission
E-post: CA@sedermera.se
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For further information about ExpreS2ion Biotech Holding AB, please contact:
Dr. Steen Klysner, CEO
Telephone: +45 2062 9908
E-mail: sk@expres2ionbio.com
This press release contains information that ExpreS2ion is obligated to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above on February 19, 2019.
About ExpreS2ion
ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies ApS is a fully owned Danish subsidiary of ExpreS2ion Biotech Holding AB with company register number 559033-3729. The subsidiary has developed a unique proprietary platform technology, ExpreS2, that can be used for fast and efficient preclinical and clinical development as well as robust production of complex proteins for new vaccines and diagnostics. Since the Company was founded in 2010, it has produced more than 250 proteins and 35 virus-like particles (VLPs) in collaboration with leading research institutions and companies, demonstrating superior efficiency and success rates. In addition, ExpreS2ion develops novel VLP based vaccines through the joint venture AdaptVac ApS which was founded in 2017.
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