Insight on Aurobindo and COVAXX exclusive licensing agreement

Aurobindo and COVAXX, have entered into an Exclusive License Agreement to develop, commercialize and manufacture Covid-19 Vaccine.

Aurobindo Pharma and COVAXX, a US-based company, have entered into an Exclusive License Agreement to develop, commercialize and manufacture UB-612, the first Multitope Peptide-based Vaccine to fight COVID-19, for India and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) agency. COVAXX is currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial for the vaccine candidate.

UB-612 is composed of synthetic peptides designed to mimic biology, allowing COVAXX the ability to adapt the production peptide sequence quickly to new virus strains. In pre-clinical trials, UB-612 has shown high immunogenicity, a robust antibody response and, through in vitro testing- the antibodies have bound the target COVID-19 spike protein antigen, blocked binding to the hACE2 receptor, and neutralized the virus’s ability to replicate. Furthermore, rather than focusing only on neutralizing antibodies, COVAXX’s vaccine is designed to activate both
humoral and cellular immunity for greater efficacy, while avoiding vaccine-induced disease enhancement. As it is composed with synthetic peptides, rather than live virus, the UBITh Vaxxine Platform has no biohazard risk and is stable, allowing for a highly scalable manufacturing process.

About COVAXX

COVAXX, a division of United Biomedical, is responding to the COVID-19 breakout in a manner that is consistent with our values by following the science and putting diagnostics and solutions-thinking at the center of our approach. Our priority is to stay on the front lines to safeguard the health and well-being of our communities. COVAXX is developing the Multitope Peptide-Based Vaccine for COVID-19 that has shown promising preclinical efficacy and is based on a commercially proven, safe and scalable vaccine platform.

About this deal

Under the signed agreement, Aurobindo Pharma has obtained the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and sell COVAXX’s UB-612 vaccine in India and to UNICEF, as well as non-exclusive rights in other select emerging and developing markets. Aurobindo Pharma and COVAXX are partnering on clinical development, manufacturing and marketing of COVAXX’s vaccine candidate, UB-612. Aurobindo will manufacture the finished doses at its facilities in Hyderabad. Aurobindo has the capacity of manufacturing 220 million doses in multi-dose presentation and is building additional facilities to have a total capacity of nearly 480 million doses by June 2021.