Emergex and Saudi Arabia’s Vaccine Industrial Company (VIC) have Signed MoU to Advance First-of-its-Kind Infectious Disease Solutions

• Emergex and VIC plan to collaborate to further develop and commercialise Emergex’s proprietary T cell-based vaccine candidates as designated in Saudi Arabia and the agreed Territory (including GCC Member States, other Middle Eastern territories and specified regions).
  
  
• The Collaboration Agreement ultimately shall grant VIC first rights to distribute potential licensed products and to fill and finish activities in Saudi Arabia and the Territory.
  
  
• This Collaboration supports the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to boost the biopharma sector through increasing local and regional production as well as accessibility of healthcare solutions.
  

ABINGDON, United Kingdom, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emergex Vaccines Holding Limited (‘Emergex’, or the ‘Company’) a clinical-stage biotechnology company on the forefront of combatting global infectious diseases, has announced that the Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Vaccine Industrial Company (VIC) for a Collaboration Agreement advancing Emergex’s novel T cell-priming immune set-point candidates against designated infectious diseases. This follows recent announcements of promising data reported from successful completion of Phase I clinical trials of candidates for Betacoronaviruses and Dengue Fever. Currently, Saudi Arabia has an entirely nascent market in infectious disease solutions and has established companies such as VIC to position itself and associated territories as a global biotech hub to facilitate serious initiatives to localize the biotechnology industry and harness novel technologies to address this. This agreement is a testament to Emergex’s promising technology as a vital contributor to game changing healthcare solutions around the world.

Under the terms, VIC intends to take an equity stake in Emergex, subject to government support of Phase II/III clinical trials of Emergex's T cell-priming candidates for Dengue, Coronavirus, Influenza, Yellow Fever, including add-on products related to these indications. VIC shall have a Right of First Negotiation (“ROFN”) over new candidates proposed by Emergex for the Territory. The venture would grant VIC exclusive rights to marketing and distribution of potential licensed products, as well as fill and finish activities for potential licensed products within Saudi Arabia and the designated Territory, with Emergex’s assistance for any technology transfer.

Professor Thomas Rademacher, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Emergex, commented, “This partnership with VIC propels our candidates into territories where these diseases strike hardest, where treatments are desperately needed. With this Memorandum, marking our second government-affiliated collaboration, we are delighted that global organizations recognize Emergex’s promise. We remain dedicated to forging these alliances in order to extend the reach of our candidates worldwide.”

Dr. Khaled Almosa, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of VIC, added, “We welcome the opportunity to work with Emergex at a time when infectious disease prevention is a priority to the Saudi Arabian government and people. Emergex’s novel approach offers a safe, easy-to-administer and highly effective solution, alternative to mainstream methods, to protect against infectious diseases. Advancing such innovative technologies locally will greatly contribute to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to become a global biotech hub, making headway toward greater vaccine accessibility and reducing dependance on other countries for vital healthcare solutions.”

Joining hands with forward-thinking biotech organizations such as VIC marks an important milestone for Emergex. Such partnership fortifies critical health infrastructure within regions such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that are historically difficult for biopharma to reach, playing a pivotal role in safeguarding the public’s health against the looming threat of infectious diseases.

About Vaccine Industrial Company (VIC)

Vaccine Industrial Company (VIC) is a Saudi Arabian company based in Riyadh and founded in January 2022 by Dr. Khaled Almosa, a health care management consultant. Dr. Khaled is the Founder, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Saudi Biotechnology Manufacturing Company for Insulin and Biologics (2010-2020), Member of Supreme Committee for Research, Development and Innovation, Council of Economic & Development Affairs, Council of Ministers, Saudi Arabia. VIC is the first and only company aiming to set up a state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia.

About Emergex

Emergex is a clinical-stage, privately-held biotechnology company, headquartered in Abingdon, UK, with an operating subsidiary in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and a GMP manufacturing facility in Fremont, CA, USA. The Company is pioneering the development of 100% synthetic, T cell-priming immune set-point vaccine candidates designed to mimic the body’s natural T cell immune response to destroy and to clear pathogen-infected cells, using cytopathic or non-cytopathic mechanisms, in order to protect against some of the world’s most urgent health threats. The candidates are also specifically designed for administration using novel micro-needles via skin immunisation into the epidermal layer, intended to reduce the burden and logistics associated with conventional preventative measures. Emergex’s first indications pursued are against infectious diseases: [i] viral infectious diseases, amongst which are Betacoronaviruses, Dengue Fever and Universal Influenza (including pandemic influenza) candidates, as well as [ii] intra-cellular bacterial infectious disease, such as tularemia caused by Francisella tularensis. Emergex has a growing proprietary pipeline of innovative candidates with potential to deliver rapid, broad (strain and variant agnostic) and long-lasting prevention to reduce serious illness associated with infectious diseases.

Find out more online at www.emergexvaccines.com. Visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter account for updates.