Osivax Enters Agreement with U.S. National Institutes of Health to Test Universal Flu Vaccine Candidate
Lyon, France – December 5, 2019 – Osivax announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the United States’ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to further advance the development of its lead universal flu vaccine candidate, OVX836. The Company’s proprietary oligoDOM® technology enables OVX836 to target the NucleoProtein, a highly conserved antigen universally present in influenza, thus bypassing the challenge of having to update vaccines based on seasonal variations. Osivax is currently funding a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating OVX836.
Osivax will be utilizing NIAID’s suite of preclinical services for refined immunological assessments of OVX836. Tests will include flow cytometry analyses to refine cellular immune response evaluation, which will further characterize the CD4, CD8 and polyfunctionality of T cell immune responses in addition to what was previously planned for the study. These studies will allow the Company to get a deeper and more comprehensive assessment of the vaccine’s immunological impact.
“As an emerging biotech company, this agreement with the NIH serves as an important validation of our innovative approach to creating a universal flu vaccine,” commented Alexandre Le Vert, CEO and Co-founder of Osivax. “The clinical trial for OVX836 is an iterative process and the agreement with the NIH helps us to better characterize the immune response from our lead candidate as we continue clinical testing and product development.”
About Osivax
Osivax’s mission is to revolutionize influenza prevention with a universal flu vaccine for both current and future influenza infections by leveraging its unique oligoDOM® technology platform. The OVX836 universal flu vaccine candidate is in Phase 1 clinical development. Osivax is focused on providing proof-of-concept in influenza firstly to save lives and secondly to apply the oligoDOM® platform to other infectious and immune system-associated diseases. For further information: www.osivax.com