REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PaxVax, Inc., a specialty vaccine company focused on travel and biodefense, today announced that it has acquired the oral typhoid vaccine Vivotif® from Crucell Switzerland AG, as well as its manufacturing facility in Thörishaus, near Bern, Switzerland. Additionally, PaxVax is acquiring marketing, sales and distribution capabilities in select markets including the United States, and certain other assets related to travel vaccines such as hepatitis A. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Typhoid is one of the most commonly delivered travel vaccines, and this strategic transaction establishes PaxVax as an important supplier globally. The manufacturing and sales channel for Vivotif is highly complementary to those for our cholera vaccine candidate, currently finishing Phase 3 clinical trials, and the site and production assets we are acquiring lay a strong foundation for further growth,” said Kenneth Kelley, Chief Executive Officer of PaxVax. “We are delighted to welcome our new Swiss colleagues and a site with such long standing heritage in vaccines to the PaxVax team. Their work will be central to helping us build and commercialize a world-class portfolio of specialty vaccines.”
Through this acquisition, PaxVax assumes manufacturing, sales, regulatory and distribution responsibilities related to the global supply of Vivotif including approximately 80 employees worldwide. Vivotif was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1989 and is currently approved for sale in 27 countries. Financing for the transaction was provided by an investment fund managed by Pharmakon Advisors.
An estimated 100 million people (families, students, workers and soldiers) per year travel to developing countries where tropical diseases are endemic and vaccines are needed for protection. To address the unmet needs of this growing market, PaxVax has focused on the acquisition and development of effective, safe, affordable and easy-to-administer vaccines for travelers. PaxVax’s vaccine candidate for cholera, PXVX0200, is nearing completion of its Phase 3 clinical trials and was granted FDA Fast Track designation as there is no vaccine available in the U.S. against this infectious disease. PaxVax also intends to develop a hepatitis A vaccine for travelers and has a pipeline of early-stage travel vaccine candidates for dengue, malaria and rabies.
About Vivotif
Vivotif is a live attenuated typhoid fever vaccine for oral administration. It is the only oral vaccine indicated for use against Salmonella typhi, the most prevalent of the typhoid fever-causing bacteria. The vaccine is indicated for adults and children over the age of six and has an excellent track record for safety, having been on the market for more than 20 years. It is estimated that 21 million people develop typhoid fever each year. If untreated, typhoid fever persists for three weeks to one month. Death occurs in between 10 percent and 30 percent of untreated cases1. Not all recipients of Vivotif will be fully protected against typhoid fever. Vaccinated individuals should continue to take personal precautions against exposure to typhoid organisms. The most common undesirable effects reported during prior clinical trials concern the gastrointestinal tract: abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Reported symptoms resolved spontaneously within a few days. Similar results have also been obtained in post-marketing surveillance.
About PaxVax
Founded in 2007, PaxVax is a fully integrated specialty vaccine company with a mission to protect people from infectious diseases. The company seeks both financial returns through two specialty business strategies in travel and biodefense vaccines as well as social returns by providing access to its vaccines globally and by developing vaccines addressing some of the world’s most lethal infectious diseases. The PaxVax portfolio includes a licensed vaccine for typhoid (Vivotif®), vaccines in clinical development for cholera, anthrax, HIV, and H5N1 (pandemic bird flu) and in research for malaria, dengue, rabies and HSV. PaxVax is headquartered in Redwood City, California and maintains research and development and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facilities in San Diego, California, USA, and its newly acquired facility near Bern, Switzerland. More information is available at www.PaxVax.com.
1. WHO, Typhoid vaccines - challenges, opportunities and options for introduction; June 2010
