CSL bets on mRNA vaccines in deal with Arcturus
02 Nov 2022
VaccineCollaboratemRNA
Dive Brief:
In a bid to expand its access to messenger RNA technology, CSL Seqirus agreed to a licensing deal that may be worth billions of dollars for San Diego biotechnology company Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings.
The CSL vaccine unit will pay $200 million up front to license Arcturus’ technology and know how to develop mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, pandemic preparedness and three other unspecified respiratory infections. Arcturus is also eligible for more than $4.3 billion in payments if certain developmental and commercial milestones are reached.
CSL will take the lead on development and marketing, giving Arcturus a 40% net profit share for vaccines approved to fight COVID-19 and “up to double-digit” royalties on others, Arcturus said Tuesday. The combination of expertise between the two companies may be especially helpful in offering a COVID-19 booster shot, CSL said in its own release.
CSL has seen some success with its own vaccine candidates in preclinical studies, but the deal with Arcturus gives the company access to technology that’s been proven on a larger scale. The COVID-19 vaccineCOVID-19 vaccine developed by Arcturus using its self-amplifying mRNA technology succeeded in a pivotal study in Vietnam earlier this year and is now being evaluated as a booster.
Arcturus also recently received a vote of confidence from the U.S. government in the form of a $63.2 million grant. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority award doles out cash over three years to support the company’s work on a vaccine that could be used for rapid response to an influenza pandemic.
The CSL deal offers further validation of the Arcturus technology and improves chances for the eventual success of other experimental vaccines, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Pete Stavropoulos wrote in a note to investors. “CSL is a well-established vaccine developer with an established global commercialization footprint,” he wrote.
CSL’s Seqirus unit is particularly active in flu vaccines. The company’s products include Fluad Quadrivalent for people aged 65 and older, a group that’s particularly vulnerable to the flu.
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