AltraVax acquires vaccine development technology package from Maxygen

Feb 18 2010

AltraVax, Inc., a new, privately-held biopharmaceutical company, has acquired a vaccine development technology package from Maxygen, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAXY) that gives AltraVax an exclusive license to develop vaccines for infectious diseases and is targeting influenza, a treatment for hepatitis B and HIV.

“AltraVax plans to focus on key disease targets and to use the MolecularBreeding™ technology platform as part of a number of laboratory tools to accelerate vaccine development”

Under the terms of the licensing agreement, AltraVax has exclusive rights to use Maxygen’s proprietary MolecularBreeding™ technology platform in its infectious disease vaccine development programs, subject to rights retained by Maxygen. The technology can significantly compress vaccine development timelines, leading to new vaccine possibilities that have the potential to improve and protect human health globally.

Arthur Ventures Growth Fund, LLC is the lead investor in AltraVax. “We’re excited to be a part of something that can have such a tremendous impact,” said James Burgum, managing director of Arthur Ventures. “The proprietary technology licensed from Maxygen will enable AltraVax to develop a new generation of vaccines in a shorter time period and with the promise of better protection.”

The proprietary MolecularBreeding™ technology is part of a broader technology platform of directed molecular evolution that can be applied to the development of new and improved vaccines. Vaccine candidates identified by this process can provide broad protection against many different strains of viruses responsible for a given disease. Dr. Robert Whalen, Chief Scientific Officer at AltraVax, is one of the leaders in the application of MolecularBreeding™ technology to vaccine discovery and development.

“Some current vaccine development processes may not be suitable to today’s environment of rapidly emerging, and in many cases mutating, viruses and other pathogens,” said Dr. Whalen. “This robust technology can now be directly applied to the identification and development of both novel and improved products that meet the vaccine industry’s current and future needs.”

Dr. Leonard Ruiz, who has 30 years of domestic and international experience in the biotechnology, biopharmaceutical and food industries, serves as CEO of AltraVax.

“AltraVax plans to focus on key disease targets and to use the MolecularBreeding™ technology platform as part of a number of laboratory tools to accelerate vaccine development,” said Dr. Ruiz. “We expect to be in human clinical trials within the next 12 to 18 months.”

SOURCE AltraVax, Inc.