Astellas, ClearPath team up to develop vaccines for infectious diseases

After launching a subsidiary in December that will focus on vaccines, Astellas Pharma is showing that it's serious about becoming a player in the vaccines sector. The Tokyo-based company today announced that it's partnered with Rockville, MD-based ClearPath Development to form a portfolio of development companies focused on vaccines targeting infectious diseases.

"This partnership highlights our commitment to build a global vaccine business and represents a highly efficient model for bringing innovative vaccines to market," said Kenji Yasukawa, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Astellas, in a statement.

The collaboration will support Astellas' new offshoot, RSV Corporation. Astellas will fund RSVC's development of a virosome vaccine technology for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), licensed from Mymetics. Mymetics will collaborate with RSVC on the development of the vaccine, and Astellas plans to take the vaccine through a Phase IIb human proof-of-concept study.

In preclinical studies, the virosome vaccine produced powerful immune responses and strong protection against RSV. Virosome-based vaccines, like influenza vaccines, use membrane nanoparticles containing the native key viral surface proteins that are targets of the immune system, but they lack the genetic material that could cause infection in a host.

RSV, which affects the lungs and breathing passages, can infect patients of all ages, but it can be particularly harmful to infants and older adults. In infants, it can cause pneumonia and bronchitis, and in adults, it can lead to respiratory illness. The virus, for which no vaccine exists, infects 64 million people and is responsible for 160,000 deaths worldwide per year.

Under terms of the agreement, Astellas received exclusive rights to acquire RSVC as well as further develop and commercialize the vaccine product. Mymetics is eligible for upfront and post-proof-of-concept milestone payments of up to $82 million, as well as double-digit royalties and other payments, for its RSV technology.

- here's the press release