CEPI Awards $25 Million Contract to Profectus BioSciences and Emergent BioSolutions to Develop Nipah Virus Vaccine

OSLO, Norway and BALTIMORE and GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CEPI-the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations-today announced a collaboration with Profectus BioSciences, Inc. and Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) under which Profectus and Emergent will receive up to $25 million to advance the development and manufacture of a vaccine against the Nipah virus (NiV), a bat-borne virus that can spread to both humans and livestock.

Under the terms of the Framework Partnering Agreement for the collaboration among the three parties, Profectus will receive development funding from CEPI for advancing its Nipah virus vaccine and Emergent will provide technical and manufacturing support for the CEPI-funded program. Emergent, through a separate agreement with Profectus, has an exclusive option to license and to assume control of development activities for the Nipah virus vaccine from Profectus. The international nonprofit organization PATH will also be working with the consortium under a separate agreement with CEPI to work on clinical development.

Nipah virus and Hendra virus (HeV) are closely related Paramyxoviruses that cause respiratory and encephalitis disease in a variety of animal hosts and in humans. A natural reservoir for these viruses are flying foxes (bats of the genus Pteropus) found in Southeast Asia and Malaysia. Human infection occurs after direct exposure to tissues and secretions from infected horses, pigs, and bats. There is currently no approved vaccine or therapeutic against either NiV or HeV. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care, and the mortality rate is high at approximately 75% of cases.

The Southern India state of Kerala is currently in the midst of a Nipah virus outbreak, where the virus has killed 10 people. These are the first documented cases in Kerala.

Previously unidentified, a 1999 NiV outbreak killed 105 people in Malaysia. In addition, more than one million pigs were slaughtered to stem the spread of the virus, which caused significant trade loss and market turmoil. Outbreaks occur annually in Bangladesh and have been reported numerous times in India (CDC). NiV has a 75 percent mortality rate¹. NiV is shed by bats in Southeast Asia and Malaysia and is transferred to humans via bat urine and saliva on fruit or from infected horses and pigs. It can also spread human-to-human.