FOSTER CITY, Calif., May 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SutroVax, Inc., a next-generation vaccine company, today announced that it has changed its name to Vaxcyte, Inc. The new name more accurately reflects the Company’s mission to improve global health by developing superior and novel vaccines designed to prevent or treat some of the most common and deadly infectious diseases worldwide.
“We are committed to developing superior vaccines that provide broader protection than what is available currently and to developing novel vaccines that target pathogens for which no approved vaccines exist,” said Grant Pickering, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Vaxcyte. “As we move our business forward and prepare for our lead pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate, VAX-24, to advance into clinical trials, we believe now is the time to make a change to a new name that reflects our path ahead and our unique expertise.”
The new Vaxcyte name and logo connote the Company’s focus on developing vaccines to prevent or treat some of the most common and deadly infectious diseases worldwide, utilizing its exclusively-licensed cell-free protein synthesis platform and its proprietary know-how. As an example, Vaxcyte has leveraged this platform and know-how, utilizing site-specific conjugation, to develop its lead pneumococcal conjugate vaccine program to incite T-cell and B-cell-mediated (leukocyte) immune responses.
VAX-24, formerly referred to as SVX-24 and the lead vaccine candidate in Vaxcyte’s pipeline, is a preclinical, 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) that includes 11 incremental strains over and above the 13 strains in Prevnar 13® and covers the 23 strains contained in Pneumovax 23®, which together make up today’s standard of care vaccination regimen for adults. Vaxcyte expects to submit an Investigational New Drug application for VAX-24 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the second half of 2021 to evaluate it for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD).
Vaxcyte’s pipeline also includes VAX-XP, a PCV with an expanded breadth of coverage of at least 30 strains, including newly emerging strains responsible for IPD and antibiotic resistance, as well as a novel conjugate vaccine designed to prevent Group A Strep infections and a novel protein-based therapeutic vaccine designed to slow or stop the progression of periodontal disease by targeting the keystone pathogen responsible for this chronic, oral inflammatory disease.
About Vaxcyte
Vaxcyte, formerly known as SutroVax, is a next-generation vaccine company seeking to improve global health by developing superior and novel vaccines designed to prevent or treat some of the most common and deadly infectious diseases worldwide. The Company’s cell-free protein synthesis platform, comprising the XpressCFTM platform, exclusively licensed from Sutro Biopharma, Inc., together with Vaxcyte’s proprietary know-how, enables the design and production of protein carriers and antigens, the critical building blocks of vaccines, in ways that the Company believes conventional vaccine technologies currently cannot. In addition to its pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in development, VAX-24 and VAX-XP, Vaxcyte is leveraging its proprietary platform to advance other novel vaccines, including a prophylactic vaccine to prevent Group A Strep infections (VAX-A1) and a therapeutic vaccine to treat periodontal disease (VAX-PG). For more information, visit www.vaxcyte.com.
Contact:
Sylvia Aranda
W2O
415-658-9734
saranda@w2ogroup.com