(SEATTLE), April 23, 2020 -- AGC Biologics, a global Biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), announced it is partnering with AdaptVac to develop and produce a COVID-19 vaccine. AdaptVac, together with its EU Horizon 2020 sponsored PREVENT-nCoV consortium partners, are developing a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving, and AdaptVac’s Virus-Like Particle (VLP) technology could provide a solution to protect against new SARS-CoV-2 infections.
AdaptVac’s technology allows the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine to begin clinical trials in late 2020. Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) represent a significant advance in the development of subunit vaccines, combining high safety and efficacy. Their particulate nature and dense repetitive subunit organization makes them ideal scaffolds for display of vaccine antigens.
“We strongly believe that our capsid Virus-Like Particle display technology will be a key player in global emergencies, such as the COVID-19 epidemic, and have carefully selected AGC Biologics as our trusted partner in the development and production of this vaccine. We are grateful to AGC for providing additional COVID-19 vaccine development support, ensuring vaccine production can happen in the fastest possible timeline,” says Wian de Jongh, AdaptVac’s CEO.
“The urgency level to develop and produce a vaccine to combat COVID-19 could not be higher,” says AGC Biologics CEO Patricio Massera. “We are honored to partner with AdaptVac and be part of the consortium team that is working to develop an efficient vaccine. We value collaborative partnerships and believe working together to fight this pandemic is crucial.”
About AdaptVac:
AdaptVac aims to accelerate the development of safe and efficacious therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines to treat and prevent specific cancers, infectious diseases and immunological disorders. AdaptVac ApS is a joint-venture between ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies ApS, a fully owned subsidiary of NASDAQ First North listed ExpreS2ion Biotech Holding AB and University of Copenhagen spin-out NextGen Vaccines ApS. The goal of the Joint Venture is to create a world class unit for the development of highly competitive vaccines and therapeutics against infectious diseases, cancer, and immunological disorders. The combination of ExpreS2ion’s proprietary insect cell expression technology, ExpreS2, and NextGen’s unique expertise in proprietary Virus-Like Particle (VLP) technology makes AdaptVac a strong and versatile player in the field of new vaccines and immune therapy.
Learn more at www.adaptvac.com and www.expres2ionbio.com.
About AGC Biologics:
AGC Biologics is a leading global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with a strong commitment to deliver the highest standard of service to clients and partners. The company currently employs more than 900 employees worldwide. AGC Biologics’ global network spans three continents, with cGMP-compliant facilities in Seattle, Washington; Copenhagen, Denmark; Heidelberg, Germany; and Chiba, Japan.
AGC Biologics offers deep industry expertise and unique customized services for the scale-up and cGMP manufacture of protein-based therapeutics, from pre-clinical to commercial mammalian and microbial production. Integrated service offerings include plasmid (GMP pDNA) manufacturing, cell line development, bioprocess development, formulation, analytical testing, antibody drug development and conjugation, cell banking and storage and protein expression, including the proprietary CHEF1® Expression System for mammalian production.
Learn more at www.agcbio.com.
About the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak:
A novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China in late December 2019 and declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11th , 2020. The COVID-19 Coronavirus is a part of the same family as SARS and MERS, and there have been more than 2 million confirmed cases and over 150,000 deaths reported as of April 19th , 2020. The latest situation updates are available on the WHO web page: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
