NanoPass Technologies Grants a Commercial License to Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for use of its MicronJet Device

NES ZIONA, Israel, November 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

NanoPass Technologies Ltd. ("NanoPass"), a pioneer in intradermal delivery solutions for vaccines, announced today that it has entered into a license agreement for MicronJet®, its microneedle delivery device, with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (JPI) for multiple vaccine fields.

The license agreement will provide Janssen with an exclusive license to use the device in its seasonal influenza programs and options for additional vaccine fields. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

Yotam Levin, Chief Executive Officer of NanoPass, said, "We are delighted to enter into this license agreement with Janssen, a leading pharmaceutical company. We see a significant opportunity for improving immunogenicity and/or reducing the dose of vaccination, by combining our device approach with Crucell's vaccines. The agreement with Janssen is a significant milestone towards full market acceptance."

Dr. Richard Kenney, Chief Medical Officer of Crucell, an affiliate of Janssen, said, "Combining the NanoPass MicronJet600 device with Crucell's virosomal influenza vaccine technology has the potential to change the qualitative immune response to provide benefits in ways that cannot be predicted. Effective vaccination in the elderly is urgently needed; we hope this is the first step toward an improved vaccine."

About NanoPass Technologies Ltd.

NanoPass has concluded multiple seasonal flu studies as well as the world's first intradermal H1N1 pandemic flu vaccine study, demonstrating equivalent or superior immunogenicity to standard intramuscular delivery using only 20% of the dose [i,ii,iii]. The company is backed by prominent investors including IHCV, Ofer Hi-Tech, DPartners, WFD Ventures and ‎Elcam Medical.‎

About MicronJet600

MicronJet is a microneedle-based device for ID delivery of vaccines and drugs, enabling consistent, nearly painless and simple delivery of therapeutics directly into the skin. MicronJet has proven efficacy and safety in multiple applications including flu vaccines and insulin. MicronJet is approved for marketing in various territories including the USA, for use by health care professionals for intradermal delivery (see label).

i Hung IFN, Levin Y, To KK. Quantitative and ‎qualitative analysis of antibody response after dose sparing intradermal 2009 H1N1 vaccination.‎ Vaccine. 2012;30(17):2707-8.

ii Van Damme P, Oosterhuis-Kafeja F, Van der Wielen M et al. Safety and efficacy of a novel microneedle device for dose sparing intradermal influenza vaccination in healthy adults. Vaccine. 2009;27(3):454-9.

iii. Hung IFN, Levin Y, To KWW, Chan KH, Zhang AJ, Li P, Li C, Xu T, Wong TY and Yuen KY. Dose sparing intradermal trivalent influenza (2010/2011) vaccination overcomes reduced immunogenicity of the 2009 H1N1 strain. Vaccine. In Press.2012.

Contact:
Yotam Levin, CEO:
+972-523-392727
yotam@nanopass.com