Janssen and Bavarian Nordic sign $836m deal on Hep B and HIV vaccines

Janssen has signed a new deal with Bavarian Nordic worth up to $836 million to develop target vaccines for hepatitis B and HIV.

The projects will combine Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN technology with Janssen’s AdVac platform, and adds to two existing programmes being co-developed by the companies.

Janssen will pay $10 million upfront and its investment arm Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC) will provide $33m in an equity investment by subscription of new Bavarian Nordic shares.

Bavarian Nordic will also receive payments for milestones in development, regulatory and sales milestones up $836 million, in addition to royalties on future sales.

[caption id="attachment_17308" align="alignnone" width="270"] Bavarian Nordic's Paul Chaplin[/caption]

“We are very excited about this additional collaboration with Janssen, and proud to deploy our MVA-platform in the fight against two diseases with such an enormous impact on global health,” said Paul Chaplin, president & CEO of Bavarian Nordic.

"This agreement builds upon the science and data we have seen to date, which has shown the potential that a combination of our two platforms could serve many patients in a wide range of disease areas. We welcome this expansion of what has already been a fantastic relationship between our two companies.”

The companies first began collaborating in October 2014, when Janssen licensed MVA-BN for use in a heterologous prime-boost Ebola vaccine regimen. This was followed a second license for HPV in December 2015. Similar to these agreements, Janssen will be responsible for all clinical development, while manufacturing of MVA-BN is retained by Bavarian Nordic.

The new deals will help fund the research goals of the Copenhagen, Denmark-based company. Bavarian Nordic is developing a portfolio of active cancer immunotherapies, including PROSTVAC, currently in phase 3 development for advanced prostate cancer, and already has Bristol-Myers Squibb lined up as the product’s commercialisation partner if and when it reaches the market.