Bilthoven, The Netherlands, 16 September 2021 – Intravacc, a global leader in translational research and the development of vaccines against infectious diseases and therapeutic vaccines, today launches its new hybrid business model that should lead to further innovation and sustainable growth over the next five years. On the one hand, Intravacc’s new business model leans on contract research and small-scale GMP production for clinical research on vaccine efficacy and safety (CDMO), and on the other hand on the independent development and commercialization of proprietary intranasally administered vaccine candidates through licensing agreements.
Potential of Intravacc’s contract research
Intravacc sees great opportunities thanks to its vast experience in vaccine development – from basic research to phase I & II clinical trials. Intravacc has signed a number of multi-year contracts with profit and non-profit organizations for the development of vaccines against both infectious diseases and cancer. These projects will generate revenue for Intravacc through licensing, technology, R&D services, and pilot production. A number of milestone and royalty contracts (approx. 3%) have been signed, which will run through 2031. Intravacc expects to enter into one to two service-, and partnership agreements per year, with income from these contracts accounting for 70-80% of the company’s total revenue.
Prof. Virgil Schijns, Chief Scientific Officer at Intravacc, says,“We believe that within five to ten years patients will be treated with therapeutic cancer vaccines, probably in combination with complementary immunotherapies. Intravacc is currently developing a therapeutic vaccine for bladder cancer and hopes to start a phase I study in late 2023.”
Intravacc’s proprietary vaccine pipeline
Prior to its privatization on 1 January of this year, Intravacc was a governmental vaccine research institute with a rich pipeline of vaccine candidates against bacterial and viral infections. At the time, these vaccines, now part of Intravacc B.V., were developed on several patented platforms and the results of the relevant studies were published in leading scientific journals. The unique feature of these vaccines is their administration through the nose. The vaccines include sIPV (Polio), RSV, whooping cough (Bordetella Pertussis), and Gonococcal (Neisseria gonorrhoeae), but also the Avacc-10 vaccine against COVID-19, which is now under development. These proprietary vaccines will be marketed under a partnership or licensing agreement, following completion of a phase I clinical trial. These proprietary vaccines will eventually contribute about 20% to Intravacc’s turnover.
The excellent preclinical study results of Avacc-10 were recently published on the preprint site bioRxiv. In addition, Intravacc has started a promotional campaign (Avacc10video) to emphasize the importance of the nasal spray vaccine, that can also be used as a booster vaccine. Unlike the patented COVID-19 vaccines currently on the market, Avacc-10 is free of licensing fees and inexpensive to produce. Because it is free of licensing fees, this vaccine is also eligible for the WHO COVID-19 “Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) program”.
Dr. Jan Groen, Intravacc’s CEO says,“Our new hybrid business model makes Intravacc well positioned to capitalize on the rapidly growing market for therapeutic cancer vaccines. Revenues derived from our contract research activities will form the basis of our revenue growth. Our proprietary pipeline of intranasal vaccines is also promising. Intravacc will initiate a financing round, possibly together with a partner, to enable the development of these vaccines up to clinical phase I.”
