CEVEC Pharmaceuticals, the developer of the CAP Technology, a novel human expression system derived from amniocytes, and Vakzine Projekt Management GmbH (VPM), a company active in developing promising biopharmaceutical candidates from academic research, jointly announced the signing of an exclusive licence agreement on VPM’s proprietary human CMV dense body technology.
CAP Technology is based on an immortalized human cell line for vaccine and protein production developed by CEVEC for industrial use. The serum-free suspension culture of this proprietary cell line allows for high virus yields for a broad variety of human pathogenic viruses. CAP cells are uniquely suited to produce vaccines against challenging viral targets like human CMV. The non-infectious dense bodies are considered to be one of the most promising new CMV vaccine approaches since they result in efficient and long-lasting immunity. The CMV dense body project is foreseen to enter clinical development within the next 18 months. CEVEC receives exclusive word-wide development and commercialization rights from VPM and VPM will substantially contribute by taking over development project management services for the project. The inventor of the CMV dense body technology, Prof. Dr. Plachter, an internationally reputed CMV expert, actively supports in the project as leading scientific expert.
“With VPM we are teaming up with a very reputed development partner in the field of state-of-the art vaccines for current high-medical need diseases like human CMV. We’re very pleased that VPM and CEVEC are combining our CAP suspension cells as the enabling production platform with VPMs unique dense body technology. I’m convinced that the dense body technology and CAP are a perfect match and the combined efforts will substantially shorten the timeline to enter clinical phases,“ stated Wolfgang Kintzel, CEO at CEVEC. "This project shows a scientific and commercial potential untapped in the field of currently pursued viral vaccine targets, " Dr. Rainer Lichtenberger, CFO/COO at CEVEC complements.
“It is a great success story in translational research for VPM and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research that we were able to bring this early stage vaccine project from academia to industry. With the out-licensing of the CMV dense body project to CEVEC, VPM could again demonstrate that its translational business model is instrumental in developing promising vaccine candidates to a stage of maturity where they can envisage a full pharma development. Cooperating with Cevec will help this potentially live-saving vaccine to tap its full potential”, added Dr. Bernd Eisele CEO of VPM.