Emergex Vaccines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Vaccine Industrial Company (VIC) to develop and commercialise T cell-priming immune set-point candidates against infectious disease therapies.

The territories included in the agreement were Saudi Arabia and other specified territories, such as GCC member states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE), other Middle Eastern territories and specified regions.

As per the deal, VIC will have an equity share in Emergex, contingent on the Saudi Arabian government’s support for Phase II/III clinical trials of Emergex’s T cell-priming candidates. These are beings studied for dengue, Covid-19, and others, including the add-on therapies related to these indications.

In June, Emergex reported positive data from the Phase I trial of its T cell-priming immune set-point candidate, DengueTcP, for treating dengue. The results showed that the therapy was well tolerated in healthy volunteers.

The company also reported positive data for CoronaTcP, a T cell-priming immune set-point candidate for treating beta-coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-1 and emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2. The results form the Phase I trial in healthy volunteers demonstrated a favourable safety profile, with no serious adverse events being reported during the study.

VIC will also have the Right of First Negotiation over new candidates proposed by Emergex for the territories covered under the agreement. In addition, VIC will have exclusive commercialisation rights for the potential licensed therapies.

The agreement is part of Emergex’s plan to penetrate the emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In June, the UK-based company partnered with the Molecular Biology Institute of Paraná (IBMP), which is linked to Brazil’s Ministry of Health. As per the agreement, both organisation will co-fund Phase II/II studies of DengueTcP and CoronaTcP, with IBMP having exclusive marketing rights in Brazil and South America.

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