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news.Novavax has signed a non-exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Wyeth to obtain rights to a patent application covering virus-like particle technology for use in influenza vaccines.
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The agreement provides for an upfront payment, annual license fees, milestone payments and royalties on any product sales. Payments under the agreement to Wyeth could aggregate $5 million through the end of 2008.
Novavax is developing pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines based upon the VLP technology. The company says VLPs mimic the three-dimensional structure of a virus but do not contain genetic material. Therefore, they cannot replicate and are believed to be incapable of causing infection or disease. Because VLPs maintain functional properties of two influenza surface proteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, they have been shown to activate multiple responses in the immune system.
The licensed patent application supplements Novavax’s patent portfolio in the VLP field.
“We are delighted to have completed this license agreement with Wyeth and see this license as another important step in building a strong intellectual property position for our influenza vaccine programs,” stated Rahul Singhvi, president and CEO of Novavax.