Date: 2014-10-27
Type of information: Grant
Company: OPTIVAC projet led by Imaxio (France), the VirPath laboratory at the Université Claude Bernard of Lyon (France) and the International Center for Infectiology Research (CIRI) (France)
Investors: National Research Agency (France)
Amount: €600,000
Funding type: grant
Planned used: The OPTIVAC project is led by a consortium of three institutions based in Lyon, France: Imaxio, the VirPath laboratory at the Université Claude Bernard of Lyon and the International Center for Infectiology Research (CIRI). The aim of the OPTIVAC project is to improve the efficacy of vaccines for seasonal influenza and current pandemics. To achieve this it will develop a candidate vaccine comprising a recombinant, proprietary and highly immunogenic version of the influenza virus nucleoprotein. The candidate vaccine from the OPTIVAC project will be administered in conjunction with current influenza vaccines with the aim of improving their efficacy, particularly in the elderly. The consortium plans to use the funds received to complete preclinical development of the candidate vaccine within the next 24 to 36 months, entering Phase I clinical trials at the start of 2017.
Others: * On October 27, 2014, Imaxio, a biopharmaceutical company specialized in vaccines, announced that it has been awarded funding of €600,000 ($772,000) by the French National Research Agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche, ANR) for the OPTIVAC project \'leveraging On t-cell immune resPonse To Improve influenza VACcines\'. The ANR granted this funding under a highly competitive program, the \'Generic Call for Proposals\', which funds research work that address major societal challenges. The agency received nearly 8,500 proposals (35 per cent in the health care category). Ultimately just 800 projects were selected, including OPTIVAC.
Therapeutic area: Infectious diseases
