China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and ImmunoBiology Ltd Enter Licensing Agreement to Co-Develop Next Generation Vaccine against Pneumococcal Disease in Greater China

March 18, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

Cambridge Based Vaccine Company ImmBio has entered a licensing
agreement with the largest vaccine producer in China, CNBG to
Co-Develop ImmBio’s PnuBioVax Vaccine against Pneumococcal Infection

CAMBRIDGE, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ImmunoBiology Ltd (ImmBio), a vaccine R&D company based at Babraham
Research Campus near Cambridge UK, has recently signed a licensing
agreement with LIBP (Lanzhou Institute of Biological Product) a
subsidiary company under CNBG.

This partnership will enable ImmBio and LIBP to co-develop ImmBio’s
proprietary PnuBioVax vaccine against pneumococcal disease and launch
the pneumococcal vaccine in the Greater China area upon completion of
successful clinical studies. This Sino-UK high-tech partnership deal has
been possible as a result of the long-lasting successful relation
between the companies and strong pre-clinical and Phase I clinical data
obtained by ImmBio in the development of the pneumococcal vaccine to
date.

In addition to the multi-million milestone and royalty payment
agreement, the licensing agreement provides a strategic alliance for
ImmBio, allowing access to the partner’s strong technical ability and
manufacturing capacity that could facilitate the development and
commercialisation of the vaccine in the Rest of the World.

Dr Enrique Tabares, CEO of ImmBio, commented: “We are excited to
be working with such a prestigious organisation as CNBG and the value
this partnership will bring to the development of the universal
pneumococcal vaccine, PnuBioVax.”

Dr. ZHANG Yuntao, Vice President of CNBG, said: “This reciprocal
partnership will provide a more effective and convenient solution to the
broad protection of pneumococcal related disease.”

Pneumococcal disease, caused by the pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus
pneumoniae, is a major cause of mortality with approximately 1.5
million deaths every year. This is higher than TB, HIV and malaria
combined. It is also a major source of morbidity in high risk groups and
the elderly. Current vaccines target a limited number of the approximate
97 variants, known as serotypes, of the S. pneumoniae bacteria.
Although current vaccines are effective against the serotypes they
target, between 10 and 23, they have lost efficacy over time due to
replacement and higher incidence of non-vaccine serotypes. Finally,
current estimates indicate that pneumococcal bacteria are resistant to
one or more antibiotics in 30% of the cases.

PnuBioVax vaccine aims to be the first vaccine in the market targeting
all S. pneumoniae variants with the potential to tackle the
antibiotic resistance problem at its source. The pneumococcal vaccine
partnership deal between CNBG and ImmBio will help to speed up the
development process to produce an effective pneumococcal vaccine to
fight the infection on a global scale.

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Notes to Editors

About ImmunoBiology Ltd

ImmunoBiology Ltd is a vaccine company developing the next generation of
anti-infective vaccines. The portfolio addresses areas of high unmet
need, where the risk and consequence of infection are severe. ImmBio has
an established product and process patent that enables the transition
between an innate and an adaptive immunological response. ImmBio has
experienced executive and staff in its facilities in Cambridge (UK) and
has built an impressive product portfolio backed by a solid and broad
investor base and through collaborative agreements.

About CNBG/LIBP

CNBG is the biological product arm of Sinopharm, China’s largest
pharmaceutical and healthcare group in China, with core business in
pharmaceutical distribution, scientific research and manufacture of
medical and biotech products. CNBG is the leading vaccine manufacturer
in China, having multiple production sites in 8 major Chinese cities,
focusing on R&D, manufacture and marketing of biological products. The
portfolio of CNBG includes vaccines, plasma-derived products, as well as
medical aesthetics products and diagnostic reagents. LIBP was founded in
1934 and is currently a subsidiary of CNBG.