Osivax, a Lyon, France-based developer of a universal flu vaccine, secured €8m in Series A financing.
The round, which brought total funding raised to date to €11m, including its seed financing from Pradeyrol Développement and other family offices as well as recent non-dilutive funding from BPI France and Wallonia region (DGO6), was led by Noshaq, previously known as Meusinvest, joined by Anaxago.
The company intends to use the funds to:
– further progress in the clinical development of its lead flu vaccine candidate,
– evaluate a second-generation universal vaccine candidate, currently in preclinical development, which will cover both A- and B-strains of influenza, and
– support strategic corporate growth.
Founded in 2017 by Alexandre Le Vert, CEO, Osivax aims to achieve clinical proof-of-concept for the lead vaccine candidate, OVX836. The vaccine comprises a protein engineered to include the natural NP from an A-strain virus and the company’s proprietary oligoDOM® technology, an auto-assembling structure with a positively-charged tail that creates a large protein nanoparticle with multiple copies of the antigen. This proprietary structure facilitates the uptake into dendritic cells and increases the immunogenicity of the natural protein to trigger a more effective immune response, including an unprecedented CD8 T cell activation. The flu program has already demonstrated efficacy and cross-protection in mouse and ferret challenge models and is currently being tested in a Phase I clinical trial with initial results expected in the second half of 2019.
In conjunction with the Series A closing, Osivax is opening a new subsidiary in Liege, Belgium.
FinSMEs
10/07/2019