Pfizer has agreed to invest €90.5 million ($95 million) towards a vaccination for Lyme disease.
A deal has been struck with Valneva SE that will see the start of the phase 3 study of the disease’s vaccine candidate, VLA15. This is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.
The investment will represent 8.1% of Valneva’s share capital and the company is planning to use the proceeds from Pfizer’s funds to support the development during phase 3 of the Lyme disease program.
Additional funding
The agreement was initially announced in April 2020, and the terms of the deal have now been updated to reflect the additional funding. Valneva will now fund 40% of the remaining shared development costs compared to 30% in the initial agreement.
Thomas Lingelbachm, chief executive at Valneva said, “Pfizer’s investment in Valneva highlights the quality of the work we have done together and is a strong recognition of Valneva’s vaccine expertise.”
He added that the agreement will ease the financial burden while they continue to work on phase 3.
Devastating disease
“Lyme disease is spreading and represents a high unmet medical need which impacts the lives of millions of people in the Northern Hemisphere. We are looking forward to further investigating our VLA15 candidate in phase 3 which will take us a step closer to potentially help protect both adults and children from this devastating disease.”
Pfizer will pay Valneva tiered royalties ranging from 14% to 22% compared to royalties starting at 19% in the initial agreement. In addition, the royalties will be complemented by up to $100 million in milestones payable to Valneva based on cumulative sales.
Cover image: Shutterstock