Batavia Biosciences to Partner with Valneva Sweden AB for Polio Vaccine Development

Batavia Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical contract development manufacturing organization, and Valneva Sweden AB, the Swedish subsidiary of Valneva SE, announced on June 15, 2020 that they have entered into a collaboration to accelerate market access of a low-cost inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).

Through the agreement, Valneva will manufacture the Sabin vaccine strains (sIPV) for clinical trials in its manufacturing facility in Solna, Sweden, using Batavia’s process, according to a press release. Valneva will receive an upfront payment and monthly service fees while Batavia will be responsible for the release and supply of the vaccine to developing country vaccine manufacturers (DCVMs).

Batavia received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2019 to use its low-cost vaccine manufacturing process HIP-Vax, in combination with Nevoline manufacturing equipment from Univercells, to produce clinical grade IPV bulks to select DCVMs for phase I and II clinical studies, the press release said.

“As a company focusing on high unmet medical needs, Valneva is proud to make another important contribution to polio eradication through this agreement with Batavia,” said Thomas Lingelbach, CEO, Valneva, in the press release. “Our site and team in Sweden has significant experience working with poliovirus. This new contract underscores Valneva’s technical expertise in clinical manufacturing and bio-risk management.”  

“We are excited to be working with Valneva, who can leverage their GAPIII polio facility and polio know-how to accelerate the development of this important vaccine as well as offering an important step forward in the application of our HIP-Vax technology for vaccine manufacture,” added Chris Yallop, chief operating officer, Batavia Biosciences, in the press release.

Source: Batavia