Vaxart Provides Update on its Oral COVID-19 Vaccine Program
March 31 2020 - 08:00AM
Vaxart, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing
oral recombinant vaccines that are administered by tablet rather
than by injection, today announced it had produced five COVID-19
vaccine candidates for testing in its preclinical models.
Each of the COVID-19 vaccine constructs is based on a different
coronavirus antigen combination, and Vaxart expects to advance the
best performing vaccine to manufacturing for clinical trials.
“The effectiveness of Vaxart’s oral vaccine technology has been
demonstrated in clinical trials. Developing a vaccine to meet
this current public health threat is very important to all of us at
Vaxart,” said Sean Tucker, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of
Vaxart. “Our scientists have been working tirelessly to develop
these 5 different vaccine constructs, and this evaluation in our
preclinical models will allow us to select the most potent
candidate for clinical testing.”
In January, Vaxart initiated a program to develop a COVID-19
vaccine based on its VAASTTM platform. On March 18, Vaxart
announced that it had entered into an agreement with Emergent
BioSolutions Inc. (“Emergent”) for development services in
preparation for the cGMP production of the Vaxart vaccine.
Development services have started and, if Vaxart elects to proceed
with cGMP manufacturing, Emergent is expected to produce bulk cGMP
vaccine for use in a Phase 1 clinical study that Vaxart currently
expects to initiate early in the second half of 2020.
“We believe an oral vaccine administered using a room
temperature-stable tablet would provide enormous logistical
advantages in large vaccination campaigns,” said Wouter Latour, MD,
chief executive officer of Vaxart Inc. “Perhaps more
importantly, we recently demonstrated that our oral H1 influenza
vaccine protects against respiratory infection based on mucosal
immunity, the first line of defense for “mucosal” viruses like
influenza and this new coronavirus. We believe this puts
Vaxart in a unique position to develop an effective vaccine that
protects the population from COVID-19.”
About Coronavirus
CDC is responding to a pandemic of respiratory disease spreading
from person-to-person caused by a novel (new) coronavirus. The
disease has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated
“COVID-19”). This situation poses a serious public health risk. The
federal government is working closely with state, local, tribal,
and territorial partners, as well as public health partners, to
respond to this situation. COVID-19 can cause mild to severe
illness; most severe illness occurs in older adults.
About Vaxart
Vaxart is a clinical-stage biotechnology company primarily
focused on developing oral recombinant protein vaccines based on
its proprietary oral vaccine platform. Vaxart’s vaccines are
designed to generate broad and durable immune responses that
protect against a wide range of infectious diseases and may also be
useful for the treatment of chronic viral infections and cancer.
Vaxart’s vaccines are administered using a convenient room
temperature-stable tablet, rather than by injection. Vaxart
believes that tablet vaccines are easier to distribute and
administer than injectable vaccines and have the potential to
significantly increase vaccination rates. Vaxart’s development
programs include oral tablet vaccines that are designed to protect
against coronavirus, norovirus, seasonal influenza and respiratory
syncytial virus (RSV), as well as a therapeutic vaccine for human
papillomavirus (HPV). For more information, please visit
www.vaxart.com.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other
than statements of historical facts, included in this press release
regarding Vaxart’s strategy, prospects, plans and objectives,
results from preclinical and clinical trials, commercialization
agreements and licenses, beliefs and expectations of management are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be
accompanied by such words as “believe,” “could,” “potential,”
“will” and other words and terms of similar meaning. Examples of
such statements include, but are not limited to, statements
relating to Vaxart’s ability to develop and commercialize its
product candidates and clinical results and trial data (including
plans with respect to the proposed coronavirus vaccine program);
Vaxart’s intention to continue its efforts to advance its oral
tablet seasonal flu vaccine; and Vaxart’s expectations with respect
to the important advantages it believes its oral vaccine platform
can offer over injectable alternatives, particularly for mucosal
pathogens such as norovirus, flu and RSV, as well as coronaviruses
such as SARS, MERS and SARS-Cov-2. Vaxart may not actually achieve
the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or
projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements and you
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from
the plans, intentions, expectations and projections disclosed in
the forward-looking statements. Various important factors could
cause actual results or events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements that Vaxart makes, including, for
example, Vaxart’s product candidates may not be approved by the FDA
or non-U.S. regulatory authorities; even if approved by the FDA or
non-U.S. regulatory authorities, Vaxart’s product candidates may
not achieve broad market acceptance; Vaxart may experience
manufacturing issues and delays due to events within, or outside
of, Vaxart’s control, including the recent outbreak of COVID-19;
and other risks described in the “Risk Factors” sections of
Vaxart’s Quarterly and Annual Reports filed with the SEC. Vaxart
does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements, except as required by law.
Contact
Brant Biehn Vaxart Inc 650 550 3500 IR@vaxart.com
Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024