Big Pharma backs CMV vaccine

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has teamed up with an American biotech company to develop the first commercial vaccine for cytomegalovirus (CMV), which kills or disables tens of thousands of infants every year. Because CMV infection does not usually lead to detectable symptoms in otherwise healthy people, only a handful of researchers have endeavored to develop a CMV vaccine. In fact, the virus is one of the top causes of birth defects; a 1999 National Academy of Sciences report estimated t

| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has teamed up with an American biotech company to develop the first commercial vaccine for cytomegalovirus (CMV), which kills or disables tens of thousands of infants every year. Because CMV infection does not usually lead to detectable symptoms in otherwise healthy people, only a handful of researchers have endeavored to develop a CMV vaccine. In fact, the virus is one of the top causes of birth defects; a 1999 National Academy of Sciences report estimated that CMV costs the US as much as $4.4 billion per year. (See our 2006 article on linkurl:CMV vaccine;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/36883/ development efforts). The vaccine candidate, AVX601, was created by scientists at North Carolina-based AlphaVax and has fared well in a linkurl:phase I clinical trial;http://www.alphavax.com/docs/news/news_25.pdf on healthy adults. AVX601 is a single-cycle particle vaccine that carries RNA encoding three antigens--phosphoprotein 65, immediate early protein I, and glycoprotein B--from the CMV virus, and the vaccine was shown to raise levels of neutralizing antibodies and antigen-specific T cells in phase I trial subjects. Now that it has licensed the technology, Novartis will marshal the compound through phase II trials, which are slated to commence sometime this year, according to a linkurl:statement;http://www.novartis.com/newsroom/media-releases/en/2008/1279693.shtml from the company. Janice Kimpel, AlphaVax's vice president of business development, told __The Scientist__ that Novartis plans to develop the vaccine to target adolescent women before they become pregnant and pass CMV on to their unborn children. According to a statement from Novartis, the company paid $20 million (USD) for the rights to AphaVax's CMV vaccine program. Under the deal, Novartis also has an option to make an equity investment of four millions shares at the end of phase II clinical trials. AlphaVax will get milestones and royalties.
**__Related stories:__***linkurl:A Long Shot on Cytomegalovirus;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/36883/
[December 2006]*linkurl:Cytomegalovirus cell receptor;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/21486/
[24 July 2003]
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • Bob Grant

    From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.
Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio