Midatech Pharma, the international specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercialising products in oncology and other therapeutic areas, has entered into a licensing agreement with Emergex Vaccines Limited, a private UK biotechnology company focused on infectious diseases utilising Midatech’s gold nanoparticle technology. In an announcement on Monday, Midatech has revealed that it had also agreed a Service and Manufacturing Agreement with Emergex for synthesis and for manufacturing of cGMP material for clinical trials.
As the company said, this exclusive licensing agreement is focused on Midatech’s proprietary platform based on certain metal core glyconanoparticles and Emergex’s development and commercialisation of various vaccines, to prevent/treat infectious diseases.
Midatech also said that this would be the first application of its nanoparticles within vaccines in infectious diseases.
Midatech will receive initial, milestone and royalty payments as part of the deal. Specific terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Jim Phillips, CEO of Midatech Pharma, said: “This licensing agreement marks another step in Midatech’s ambitious growth strategy. Emergex’s interest in applying our nanoparticles to its vaccines further validates the broad potential of our technology. The financials of the deal underline Midatech’s technology platform’s value outside the group’s core areas of focus & the Group is comfortable that revenues will meet consensus expectations for 2015.”
Emergex added: “The licensing of Midatech’s IP and know-how together with our in-licensing of novel vaccine targets presents a significant opportunity for Emergex to create the first prophylactic/therapeutic vaccine applications in nanomedicines, strengthening Emergex’s position in synthetic vaccine development. The ability to synthesise vaccines without biological-derived components, now called “vaccines on demand” will be an important prevention/therapeutic strategy for the rapid intervention in “hot virus” epidemics and/or in meeting bio-terrorism threats.”