Wednesday, August 26, 2020
EpiVax Inc., a Rhode Island- based company known as a leader in the computational vaccination industry, announced that it has acquired a Licensed a vaccine candidate against COVID-19 under the identifier EPV-CoV-19 to EpiVax Therapeutics ("EVT"), a New York- based company that previously operated under the name EpiVax Oncology.
Scientists at EpiVax have developed EPV-CoV-19 - a vaccine based on peptides and with an epitope mechanism of action. In addition, their validated, computer-aided toolkit (iVAX) was used, which enabled the selection of sequences that represent all common SARS-CoV-2 genomes that trigger an immune response triggered by T cells. The aim was to arm the recipient's immune system and thus reduce the risk of serious COVID-19 diseases.
With the licensing of the COVID-19 vaccine program, EVT is expanding the range of its products in development and application of its platform beyond its program of individual clinical-grade cancer vaccines. The company has venture capital and offers the ideal environment for the financing and development of EPV-CoV-19. The company recently restructured its management team in preparation for expanding the products in development and is raising $ 3 million in capital to support the new program.
A positive advance notice has been received for an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) application from the US FDA, and EVT is making progress towards a clinical trial. GMP peptide production has started and the IND filing is being prepared in parallel.
Michael Princiotta , CSO of EVT, said, “EVT is excited to add the COVID-19 vaccine program to its product development. We can't wait to use our vaccine platform and fundraising experience to bring EPV-CoV-19 to clinical trials. "
Annie De Groot , CEO / CSO and Co-Founder of EpiVax, said, “The EpiVax team did a fantastic job in the pre-clinical research phase. We are confident that EPV-CoV-19 will be safe and effective for health care professionals to use. We look forward to working with EVT to accelerate progress in Phase I and beyond. "
