Valneva, a specialty vaccine company, and Pfizer Inc announced that they have entered into an Equity subscription agreement and have updated the terms of their collaboration and license agreement for Lyme disease vaccine.
Pfizer Inc. has agreed to invest USD95.24 million in Valneva, representing 8.1 percent of Valneva’s share capital at a price of EUR9.49 per share through a reserved capital increase to further support the strategic Lyme partnership between the two companies.
The company intends to use the proceeds from the funding to enhance the Phase 3 development as a contribution to the Lyme disease program.
In the early hours, shares in Valneva surged sharply by 14.5 percent, trading at EUR9.09.
Thomas Lingelbach, Chief Executive Officer of Valneva said that the major highlights of Pfizer’s investment in Valneva is the quality of work that the companies have done together over the past two years and is a strong credit of Valneva’s vaccine expertise. This subscription agreement will limit the impact on its cash position and contribute to the Phase 3 investment study.
Lyme disease is spreading across the world and impacting the lives of millions of people in the Northern hemisphere and this represents a need for high medical attention. The company is looking forward to further examine the VLA15 candidate in Phase 3, which will take it closer to possibly help and protect both children and adults from this devastating disease.
The statement, previously announced on April 26, 2022, said that Pfizer plans to initiate the Phase 3 study of VLA15 in the third quarter of 2022.
Under the revised deal, Valneva will now fund 40 percent of the remaining shared development costs compared to 30 percent before.
As per the agreement, Pfizer has agreed to pay tiered royalties to Valneva from between 14 percent to 20 percent. Based on milestones achieved by the company, the royalties will be supplemented with USD100 million based on total sales, the two companies said in a statement.
About Valneva SE
Valneva is a company that specializes in the production of vaccines, while focusing on the development of prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases. The company adopts a specialized and focused approach to the development of vaccines, and harnesses its deep knowledge of the science to produce prophylactic vaccines which target these diseases.
Valneva has leveraged its expertise and capabilities both to successfully commercialize two vaccines and to rapidly advance a broad range of vaccine candidates into and through the clinic, including candidates against Lyme disease, COVID-19, the chikungunya virus.
About Pfizer
Pfizer applies science and global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. The company constantly endeavours to raise the standard for safety, quality, and value in the development, discovery and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines.
Pfizer employees work across developed and emerging markets to aid prevention, wellness, cures and treatments that challenge the most feared diseases in the world today. As one of the world’s premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, consistent with its responsibility, the company collaborates with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to affordable reliable, health care around the world. The company has worked relentlessly for more than 170 years, to make a difference for all who rely on its products.