Business
Joint Venture Investment with the SEEK Group
Joint Venture Investment with the SEEK Group.
About this update from Hvivo Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 9958V hVIVO plc 22 April 2016 \n\nFor immediate release 7.00am: 22 April 2016\n \nHVIVO PLC\n(\"hVIVO\" or the \"Company\")\n \n \nhVIVO announces a joint venture investment with the SEEK Group to develop vaccines against flu and Zika infections\n§ Plans Phase IIa clinical study of universal flu vaccine in the hVIVO platform\n \n§ Expects to begin Zika vaccine Phase I clinical study at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., later this year\n \nhVIVO plc (AIM: HVO), the pioneer of human models of disease, today announces a joint venture investment with the SEEK Group (\"SEEK\") to develop vaccines against influenza (flu) and mosquito-borne diseases, such as Zika and other flaviviruses. The joint venture investment in a new company Imutex Limited (\"Imutex\") strengthens hVIVO's commercial flu portfolio and expands it into the adjacent therapeutic area of mosquito-borne diseases, with immediate focus on Zika.\nThe development of universal flu and Zika vaccines are key public health priorities identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States. Imutex will collaborate with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to accelerate development of both vaccines this year. Depending upon the outcomes of these studies, Imutex may also pursue Fast Track designation for these vaccines.\nUniversal Flu Programme\nCurrent seasonal flu vaccines have ranged in effectiveness between 10% and 60% during the past 10 years, highlighting the innate variability in circulating flu strains from year to year. Imutex will be leveraging \"universal flu\" technology licensed from SEEK to develop a broad spectrum vaccine, called FLU-v, against multiple flu strains. FLU-v works by targeting conserved internal proteins common to all flu viruses to activate T and B-cells, key components of the human immune system response. The success of such an approach would eliminate the sensitivity to strain variability seen with traditional vaccines and promote single vaccine coverage for all flu strains. \nWorking closely with NIAID, Imutex will be leveraging the hVIVO platform to conduct a Phase IIa clinical study of FLU-v to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this novel ...