ABIVAX Signs Agreement With the Finlay Institute to Commercialise Meningococcal and Typhoid Vaccines in Asia and Latin America

PARIS, November 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

ABIVAX, a leading European, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing anti-viral compounds and human vaccines, today announced that it has signed an agreement with The Finlay Institute, Havana, Cuba, that will allow it to commercialise vaccines against typhoid, meningococcus, and leptospirosis, in Asian and Latin American markets.  

Under the terms of the agreement, ABIVAX will gain exclusive and non-exclusive distribution rights for three vaccines currently marketed successfully by The Finlay Institute in Cuba. These vaccines are:

• Typhoid: vax‐TyVi - targeting Typhoid
• Meningococcal: VA‐MENGOC‐BC - targeting Groups B & C Meningococcus
• Leptospirosis: vax‐SPIRAL - targeting Leptospirosis

ABIVAX will have rights to commercialise these products in a range of countries in Asia, including India, Indonesia and the Philippines, and Latin America, including Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay. As a result, ABIVAX has gained distribution rights to a number of exciting opportunities including typhoid in India, which is a market estimated to be worth over $600 million per annum. The Finlay Institute will be responsible for the cost competitive production of all three vaccines.

ABIVAX intends to build a commercial network to market these vaccines by appointing carefully selected partners in each of these countries. ABIVAX will select its partners based on a number of criteria including ability to service the selected market, portfolio fit and strength of relations with the local authorities. ABIVAX will be responsible for the regulatory filings in each market, supported by its local partner. The first sales from this agreement are expected in 2015.

ABIVAX will generate further value from this commercial network by using it to market products such as ABX203, a therapeutic vaccine candidate for chronic hepatitis B, which it is currently developing. ABX203 was in-licensed by ABIVAX from the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Havana, Cuba), as announced in February 2014.

Prof. Hartmut Ehrlich, M.D., CEO of ABIVAX, said: "Today's agreement with The Finlay Institute is a further step in ABIVAX' strategy to become a global leader in the anti-virals and vaccines and thus protect a large number of people from these serious and potentially life threatening infectious diseases. We intend to leverage this deal by creating a strong distribution network in Asia and Latin America that will not only drive the sales of these competitive vaccine products but also products such as ABX203 which we currently have under development."

Dr. Philippe Pouletty, M.D., Chairman of ABIVAX, added: "We are looking forward to be working with The Finlay Institute to tackle these important healthcare problems and to create value for both organisations."

Dr Daniel Cardoso of the Finlay Institute said: "We are delighted to be working with ABIVAX. We have been impressed with their commitment to Cuba and our leading position in life sciences. We are confident that their experienced management team will be able to generate significant sales in Asia and Latin America from our proven vaccines against typhoid, meningococcus and leptospirosis, three major healthcare problems in these regions."

About ABIVAX 

ABIVAX is a leading European clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on becoming a global leader in the discovery, development and commercialisation of anti-viral compounds and human vaccines to treat some of the world's most important infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B.

ABIVAX has 2 compounds in clinical stage research: ABX464 a novel small molecule against HIV with a number of important potential competitive advantages, and ABX203, a therapeutic vaccine candidate that could be a cure for chronic hepatitis B. The broader ABIVAX portfolio includes additional anti-viral compounds and vaccines that may enter the clinical stage in the coming 12-18 months.

ABX464 has been developed using ABIVAX's anti-viral platform that allows the Company to address a broad range of viral targets. ABIVAX has access to a number of cutting edge technologies including RNA-protein interaction Interference, B cell and cytotoxic TH1 cell amplification which it is using to generate proprietary breakthrough therapies to help patients clear important pathogenic viruses.

ABIVAX conducts its research and development in Évry (France) and Montpellier (France). In addition, ABIVAX benefits from long term partnerships with the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Havana, Cuba), The Finlay Institute (Havana, Cuba), the British Columbia Cancer Agency (Vancouver, Canada), the CNRS (Montpellier, France), the Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA, USA), the University of Chicago (Chicago, IL, USA), Brigham Young University (Provo, UT, USA) and the Institut Pasteur (Paris, France). ABIVAX intends to pursue further business development opportunities to access commercial products as part of its overall corporate strategy.

For more information, please visit the company's website: http://www.abivax.com

About THE FINLAY INSTITUTE 

The Finlay Institute is an internationally recognized prestigious, scientific organization dedicated to vaccine research and production. It is at the service of health, building on its over 100 years of scientific endeavour.

Human health is the main interest at Finlay Institute. For that reason its products and services are directed towards preservation of health, fighting diseases and extending life expectancy for humanity.

As makers and producers of the first and (at the time) only effective vaccine against Group B meningococcus (VA-MENGOC-BC®), this was the beginning of the Finlay Institute's strategy to find new pharmaceuticals against diseases for which prophylactic approaches are still missing. VA-MENGOC-BC®, the first effective vaccine against the meningococcus Groups B & C, is the Institute's leading product.

Recognised by the WHO, the Finlay Institute has developed an international reputation for manufacturing excellence and scientific innovation.

Contacts

ABIVAX
Prof. Hartmut J. Ehrlich, CEO
Press Relations
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Ari Levine - Lucie Larguier (Paris)
David Dible (London)
ari.levine@citigate.fr / david.dible@citigatedr.co.uk
+33-1-53-32-84-71 / +44-20-7282-2949