Aeras and the China National Biotech Group (CNBG) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the organizations to pursue opportunities to jointly develop tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in China and potentially other parts of the world.

The partnership is intended to leverage both organizations’ capabilities to support the development of TB vaccines. TB is a major public health priority in China, where there are more than one million new TB cases every year. The scope of potential activities will cover the full spectrum of product development, including pre-clinical development, process development and manufacturing, and clinical development in TB and potentially other disease areas. Details of the specific activities and areas of focus of the collaboration will be set forth in a future definitive agreement.

“Aeras is excited to expand our relationship with CNBG,” said Jim Connolly, president and chief executive officer of Aeras. “The synergy created by bringing together CNBG’s considerable infrastructure and manufacturing expertise with Aeras’ promising TB vaccine pipeline, as well as our clinical and technical expertise, will significantly enhance the likelihood of a new TB vaccine being developed quickly and efficiently.”

“At CNBG, we recognize the urgent need to combat tuberculosis and other infectious diseases in both China and around the world,” said Xiaoming Yang, president of CNBG. “This new collaboration will bring more opportunities to both organizations in pursuing greater innovation and building increased technical capacity for vaccine development.”

The global TB epidemic is responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people annually. Co-infection with HIV/AIDS and the spread of drug-resistant forms of TB make it difficult to diagnose and treat, especially in poor and marginalized communities. New tools to prevent TB, including vaccines, are urgently needed.

Aeras is a non-profit product development organization dedicated to the development of effective TB vaccines and biologics to prevent TB across all age groups in an affordable and sustainable manner.

CNBG is a state-owned enterprise belonging to China’s National Pharmaceutical Corporation (Sinopharm). CNBG engaged in the research and development, manufacturing and marketing of biological products.