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Vaxcyte Announces Expanded CARB-X Award to Advance Development of VAX-A1, a Vaccine to Prevent Group A Streptococcus Infections
-- Award Commits an Additional $3.2 Million in Funding; Total Potential Funding of $29.7 Million Based on Future Milestones -- -- Vaxcyte Plans to Initiate
About this update from Vaxcyte, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"-- Award Commits an Additional $3.2 Million in Funding; Total Potential Funding of $29.7 Million Based on Future Milestones -- -- Vaxcyte Plans to Initiate IND-Enabling Studies for VAX-A1 in Second Half of 2021 -- FOSTER CITY, Calif., Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaxcyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCVX), a next-generation vaccine company seeking to improve global health by developing superior and novel vaccines designed to prevent or treat some of the most common and deadly infectious diseases worldwide, today announced an additional award of $3.2 million from CARB-X to advance development of VAX-A1, a novel vaccine designed to prevent infections caused by Group A Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep) bacteria. The additional award will fund work to enable the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for VAX-A1. It also builds on the CARB-X award of $2.7 million for the initial funding period, which was completed in December 2020. Upon achievement of future VAX-A1 development milestones, Vaxcyte is eligible to receive up to a total of $29.7 million in CARB-X funding, inclusive of grants to date. Group A Strep is a pervasive disease that results in 700 million cases of illness each year and is one of the leading infectious disease-related causes of death and disability worldwide. Some of the most serious consequences of Group A Strep include flesh eating disease (necrotizing fasciitis) and invasive diseases such as sepsis and rheumatic heart disease. However, the majority of Group A Strep cases are pharyngitis, commonly known as strep throat. Pharyngitis is highly prevalent in school-age children and a significant source of antibiotic prescriptions, which further exacerbates the growing problem of antibiotic resistance globally. “Without a vaccine to prevent Group A Strep, we continue to see widespread disease that results in high rates of morbidity and mortality as well as antibiotic resistance globally,” said Jeff Fairman, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Co-founder of Vaxcyte. “Our continued collaboration with CARB-X further supports the steps needed to advance VAX-A1, Vaxcyte’s investigational vaccine candidate to prevent infections caused by Group A Strep bacteria, into IND-enabling studies in the second half of 2021.” “We continue to be excited by the progress of the Vaxcyte project to develop a Group A Strep conjugate vaccine. A ...