€8m for universal flu vaccine

One vaccine to prevent all flu infections now and in future: with this premise, French vaccine maker Osivax has managed to secure €8m in a Series A Round. If successful, the vaccine would be a marked improvement to current vaccines, which need to be updated every year and, even then, have limited range. Osivax’ universal Influenca A and B vaccines are based on its oligoDOM technology platform, an auto-assembling structure with a positively-charged tail that creates a large protein nanoparticle with multiple copies of the antigen. This proprietary structure facilitates the uptake into dendritic cells and increases the immunogenicity of the natural protein to trigger a more effective immune response, including an unprecedented CD8 T cell activation. “Our universal flu vaccine approach uses a recombinant NucleoProtein (NP), a highly conserved antigen, which eliminates the need to cross-check and hypothesise about which influenza strains will be relevant in future seasons,” explains Alexandre Le Vert, CEO and Co-founder of Osivax. “Our vaccine has the potential to be effective year after year by providing a strong, long-term immune response against all circulating and emerging influenza viruses. Our goal is to establish proof-of-concept on Influenza A and then expand our pipeline to provide a universal flu vaccine.”

The financing was led by Belgian investment firm Noshaq (previously known as Meusinvest) and joined by Anaxago, an innovative investment platform that enables individuals to participate in fundraising for early-stage companies through a holding company. The money will mainly be used to achieve clinical proof-of-concept for Osivax’ lead vaccine candidate, OVX836. OVX836 comprises a protein engineered to include the natural NP from an A-strain virus and Osivax’ proprietary oligoDOM technology. The flu programme is currently being tested in a Phase I clinical trial with initial results expected in the second half of 2019.

In addition, Osivax plans to evaluate a second-generation universal vaccine candidate, currently in preclinical development, which will cover both A- and B-strains of influenza. In future, the company hopes to apply their approach to other infectious diseases and immune system-associated diseases.
 
In conjunction with the Series A closing, Osivax is opening a new subsidiary in Liege, Belgium, in the heart of the Walloon region, which is a center for innovation in the field of vaccines, and home to the BioWin health cluster.