Boehringer Ingelheim has landed an exclusive license to Prime Vector Technologies’ (PVT) viral vector platform for developing next-generation cancer vaccines.
The deal, which features (PDF) undisclosed upfront and milestone payments, covers the use of PVT’s Orf virus (ORFV) platform. PVT has studied the platform across cancer and infectious diseases, including through a COVID-19 program that reached the clinic. Boehringer has secured rights to use the platform for cancer vaccines, leaving PVT free to explore infectious diseases and other applications.
Interest in using ORFV, a parapoxvirus that infects sheep and goats, to treat cancer dates back more than a decade. In 2012, researchers called ORFV “an ideal viral backbone for the development of a cancer therapeutic,” reflecting evidence that the virus is safe in humans, supports repeat dosing and triggers a potent immune response.
Yet other pathogens, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV), adenovirus and vaccinia virus, have played a bigger role in cancer drug development to date. Amgen’s Imlygic uses HSV, as does the Replimune asset that is weeks away from an FDA approval decision.
Manufacturing scalability and uncertainties regarding safety in humans have limited use of ORFV, PVT CEO Ralf Amann said in a paper published last year. Amann and his co-author cited Prime-2-CoV, PVT’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, as a program that has cleared the uncertainties. The COVID-19 program generated feasibility, safety and immunogenicity evidence and established a manufacturing process.
PVT’s cancer vaccine work has yet to reach the clinic. But Boehringer has seen enough promise to write a check, securing a chance to assess the platform as a standalone cancer vaccine and in combination with other pipeline programs.
The deal furthers Boehringer’s longstanding interest in oncolytic viruses. In 2016, the German drugmaker secured an option to buy ViraTherapeutics. Boehringer exercised its option in 2018 and began a phase 1 trial of VSV-GP, also called BI 1831169, in 2022. The company reported initial data in 2024. Boehringer continues to list VSV-GP in its clinical pipeline but recently suspended the phase 1 trial.
Boehringer kept ViraTherapeutics’ site in Austria after buying the biotech. In January, ViraTherapeutics unveiled a facility expansion intended to support an expansion beyond the roughly 45 people that made up its team at that time.