February 22, 2021

Algenex and Virbac sign licensing agreement for insect-based vaccine in major swine indication

In a February 22 press statement, biotechnology company Algenex SL and Virbac announced that they have entered into an international licensing agreement for the development and commercialisation of a CrisBio^®-based vaccine in a major swine indication.

CrisBio is Algenex' patent-protected Baculovirus vector-mediated expression platform that uses insects to act as natural single-use bioreactors. CrisBio represents a new paradigm in biologics production, offering a quick, linearly scalable solution to meet the global demand for recombinant protein production without significant capex investment. Algenex anticipates receiving European approval of the first veterinary vaccine produced using CrisBio in 2021.

"This new collaboration with Virbac, one of the global leaders in animal health, is another important milestone for Algenex and a further validation of our unique CrisBio technology and its potential to transform vaccine production in major indications across animal health," says Claudia Jiménez, CEO of Algenex.

"With this partnership, we will benefit from the experience of Algenex, and by providing a simple, scalable and cost-effective alternative to current bioreactor-based expression technologies on the market, we should be able to increase our footprint in the farm animals' vaccine market," says Sébastien Huron, CEO, Virbac group.

Commercial and financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The agreement covers all global markets excluding Poland and Italy.