AuraVax Therapeutics Enters into Exclusive License Agreement with the University of Houston for Intranasal Vaccine and Therapeutics Technology Platform
--Transaction supports development of AuraVax's lead COVID-19 intranasal program, plus other vaccines and therapeutics targeting respiratory diseases--
HOUSTON, Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AuraVax Therapeutics Inc. (www.auravax.com), a pioneering biotech company developing novel intranasal vaccines and therapies to help patients defeat debilitating diseases including COVID-19, today announced it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of Houston (UH) with respect to the intellectual property covering a novel intranasal vaccine and STING agonist technologies. This agreement converts the optioned intellectual property between UH and AuraVax announced on October 12, 2020.
"We are excited to rapidly expand our relationship with the University of Houston to advance the development of this novel intranasal approach to tackle respiratory viruses. We plan to stop COVID-19 at its point of entry -- the nasal cavity -- and we believe our intranasal platform represents a differentiated solution that will lead to a vaccine to create sustained immunity to COVID-19 and other viruses," said Dr. Navin Varadarajan, AuraVax co-founder and M.D. Anderson Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Houston.
"AuraVax and its founding team, which includes a UH professor, continue to impress us as a strong partner that is executing against its mission to develop novel vaccines and therapeutics to treat a range of viral diseases. What better cause than to advance the creation of a novel vaccine for COVID-19, which remains the primary challenge facing us in spite of the first generation of approved vaccines. The partnership has my enthusiastic support," said Amr Elnashai, University of Houston vice president for research and technology transfer.
"The demand for effective ways of vaccinating against COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases has led us to develop technology that elicits rapid mucosal and systemic immunity. We believe AuraVax has a competitive advantage given the broad immune responses it is generating, its user-friendly delivery mechanism and shelf-life characteristics, which should enable convenient widespread distribution and self-administration application," stated Dr. Varadarajan.
About AuraVax
AuraVax Therapeutics Inc. ("AuraVax") is a privately held biotechnology company developing a proprietary and differentiated platform of vaccines and therapeutics. Its lead candidate is an intranasal vaccine for COVID-19. The next-generation platform aims to combine the ease of use of "at-home" administration with the ability to deliver comprehensive immunity for use in humans and animals. The technology has been validated for COVID-19 in pre-clinical studies with immunity measured by both B-cell and T-cell responses. For more information, go to www.auravax.com.
For additional information about AuraVax, contact
Matthew J. Meyer
[email protected]
+1 415 947-2097
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic and Asian American Serving institution with enrollment of more than 47,000 students.
SOURCE AuraVax Theraputics
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