PaxVax, Inc., a specialty vaccine company focused on travel and biodefense, today announced that it has acquired the oral typhoid vaccine Vivotif® from Crucell Switzerland AG, as well as its manufacturing facility in Thörishaus, near Bern, Switzerland. Additionally, PaxVax is acquiring marketing, sales and distribution capabilities in select markets including the United States, and certain other assets related to travel vaccines such as hepatitis A. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Typhoid is one of the most commonly delivered travel vaccines, and this strategic transaction establishes PaxVax as an important supplier globally. The manufacturing and sales channel for Vivotif is highly complementary to those for our cholera vaccine candidate, currently finishing Phase 3 clinical trials, and the site and production assets we are acquiring lay a strong foundation for further growth,” said Kenneth Kelley, Chief Executive Officer of PaxVax. “We are delighted to welcome our new Swiss colleagues and a site with such long standing heritage in vaccines to the PaxVax team. Their work will be central to helping us build and commercialize a world-class portfolio of specialty vaccines.”
Through this acquisition, PaxVax assumes manufacturing, sales, regulatory and distribution responsibilities related to the global supply of Vivotif including approximately 80 employees worldwide. Vivotif was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1989 and is currently approved for sale in 27 countries. Financing for the transaction was provided by an investment fund managed by Pharmakon Advisors.
An estimated 100 million people (families, students, workers and soldiers) per year travel to developing countries where tropical diseases are endemic and vaccines are needed for protection. To address the unmet needs of this growing market, PaxVax has focused on the acquisition and development of effective, safe, affordable and easy-to-administer vaccines for travelers. PaxVax’s vaccine candidate for cholera, PXVX0200, is nearing completion of its Phase 3 clinical trials and was granted FDA Fast Track designation as there is no vaccine available in the U.S. against this infectious disease. PaxVax also intends to develop a hepatitis A vaccine for travelers and has a pipeline of early-stage travel vaccine candidates for dengue, malaria and rabies.
