Intervacc has applied for supplementary protection certificates for Strangvac in key European markets
Stockholm, February 1, 2022 - The European patent for Strangvac, a vaccine against equine strangles, is approved and in force until May 2031. Pending the approval of the supplementary protection certificates, the protection in Great Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany and Austria will be extended until May 2036.
Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) are an intellectual property right that serves as an extension of the monopoly conferred by a patent, however limited to the specific pharmaceutical and plant protection product authorised by regulatory authorities and protected by the patent. The EU wishes to provide sufficient protection for these products in the interest of public health and to encourage innovation in these areas to generate smart growth and jobs.
Supplementary protection certificates aim to offset the loss of patent protection for pharmaceutical and plant protection products that occurs due to the compulsory lengthy testing and clinical trials these products require prior to obtaining regulatory marketing approval. An SPC can extend a patent right for a maximum of five years.
“It is good that we have this possibility to extend the market exclusivity in Europe. There is a similar system in place in the US that will allow us to extend the protection also there, after regulatory approval of Strangvac. We do however not expect any one to get approval for a biosimilar vaccine even after the patent and the SPC expires. In the chemical pharmaceutical industry generics are common, but it is much more rare for biological pharmaceuticals (so called biosimilars) and we do not know of any examples of approved vaccine-biosimilars. Our assessment is that Strangvac will become the leading vaccine against equine strangles globally and will continue to be so long after patents and supplementary protection have expired” says Intervacc CEO Andreas Andersson.
For more information please contact:
Andreas Andersson, CEO
Phone: +46-8-120 10 601, cell +46-73-335 99 70
E-mail: andreas.andersson@intervacc.com
The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above on February 1, 2022, 08.30 CET.
About Intervacc
Intervacc AB is a Swedish company within animal health developing safe, effective vaccines for animals. The Company's vaccine candidates are based on several years of research at Karolinska Institutet and Swedish University of Agricultural Research where the foundation was laid for the Company´s research and development work. The Intervacc share has been listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market since April 2017 with Eminova Fondkommission AB, adviser@eminova.se, +46 (0)8–684 211 10 as Certified Adviser.
About equine strangles
Equine strangles, caused by Streptococcus equi, is the most frequently diagnosed infectious disease of horses, with e.g 600 outbreaks estimated to occur in the United Kingdom each year. Streptococcus equi invades the lymph nodes of head and neck, causing them to swell and form abscesses that can literally strangle, in around 2% of cases, the horse to death. Some of the horses that recover from strangles remain persistently infected. These apparently healthy animals shed bacteria into the environment and spread the disease to other horses with which they come into contact.
Contact information for Certified Adviser
Eminova Fondkommission AB
E-mail: adviser@eminova.se, Phone: +46 (0)8 – 684 211 10
