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The Lundquist Institute and its start-up company Vitalex Biosciences Announces Strategic Advancement of Second-Generation fungal Vaccine VXV-01 through Phase 1 Trials under $40 Million Competitive Contract from NIH/NIAID
Los Angeles, CA, Dec. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Lundquist Institute (TLI) and its star...
About this update from Appili Therapeutics Inc Class A
[{"type":"text","content":"The Lundquist Institute and its start-up company Vitalex Biosciences Announces Strategic Advancement of Second-Generation fungal Vaccine VXV-01 through Phase 1 Trials under $40 Million Competitive Contract from NIH/NIAID\n\n\n\n Los Angeles, CA, Dec. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --\n \n The Lundquist Institute\n \n (TLI) and its start-up company Vitalex Biosciences (Vitalex) are pleased to announce that the second-generation fungal vaccine candidate known as VXV‑01, which was developed using a proprietary TLI vaccine technology platform, is poised to move forward in development up to and including Phase 1 clinical evaluation — enabled by a major contract awarded to a collaboration  consortium of Vitalex and Appili Therapeutics (TSX: APLI; OTCPink: APLIF). The contract from the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is valued at up to US $40 million. It will support the development of VXV-01 from manufacturing and non-clinical studies through two Phase 1 clinical trials. This contract represents a significant milestone for The Lundquist Institute’s vaccine research program.\n \n\n\n Key Highlights\n \n\n\n\n\n\n Vitalex has an exclusive option to license VXV-01 from TLI for commercial development.\n \n\n The contract, awarded by NIH/NIAID, provides up to US $40 million of non-dilutive funding to Vitalex and its collaborator Appili and for the comprehensive development of VXV-01.\n \n\n VXV-01 is built on the TLI (Therapeutic & Laboratory Immunology) technology platform developed at TLI, a second-generation approach containing two antigens designed to target invasive\n \n Candida\n \n infections with broader-spectrum cross-kingdom protection potential against Gram negative healthcare-associated infections.\n \n\n With this funding, the program is positioned to begin manufacturing and other preparations necessary to initiate two Phase 1 clinical trials\n \n ,\n \n which, when they occur, will mark a transition from preclinical research into the first stage of human testing.\n \n\n Advancing VXV-01 into development up to and including Phase 1 trials brings it one step closer to delivering a novel prophylactic solution for serious fungal infections, a major unmet need in infectious disease.\n \n\n\n “Securing ...