Imperial Innovations in meningitis vaccine licensing deal with Novartis

Licensing

Imperial Innovations Group plc, the technology transfer arm of Imperial College London, has granted Novartis a worldwide, exclusive licence to a novel vaccine candidate against meningitis B.

The full terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Imperial Innovations said it received an upfront payment and will be entitled to development milestones and royalties if the vaccine makes it to market. In addition, Novartis will pay £1 million to fund further preclinical research over the next two years.  

The vaccine is based on the work of Christoph Tang at Imperial College London and Susan Lea at Oxford University.

Vaccines are already commercially available against meningitis A and C strains. However, the meningitis B strain of the bacterium is not addressed by current vaccines and presents a significant disease burden. In the UK for example, it accounts for around 90 per cent of cases of the disease, with around 150 deaths annually.

Imperial Innovations said the out-licensed vaccine has the potential to produce an enhanced immune response, which may confer greater protection than other vaccines currently in development.

Tang said, “Results of our work to date gives us a clearer understanding of how meningococcal bacteria shield themselves from the immune system and have provided a route to tailor new vaccines to fight this important human pathogen.”

Susan Searle, CEO of Imperial Innovations, said completing a deal with one of the leading vaccines companies recognises the potential of the meningitis B programme. “[It] provides the finance to move the research towards clinical development. If successful, such a product could provide a significant royalty stream to Imperial Innovations: it underlines our strategy of not only forming companies but also of partnering research with industry leaders to develop assets that address important markets.”