MSD signs cross-licensing vaccine production agreement

Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD) has signed a cross-licensing agreement with Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell.

This deal, combined with company’s previous licensing of the rights to PER.C6, enables MSD to exclusively use Crucell’s vaccine production technology in a number of fields, while Crucell will receive access to MSD’s manufacturing technology for use in its AdVac based vaccines.

Crucell’s TB and malaria vaccine programmes are both based on the AdVac adenovirus vector technology, with both undergoing phase I clinical trials at present.

Jaap Goudsmit, chief scientific officer at Crucell, said: “This agreement will make it possible to speed up the delivery of our malaria and TB vaccines to the people in need and makes it realistic to do so on the mass scale required.

He added that the deal would allow Crucell to speed up its Ebola programme, currently in phase I clinical studies, with the Vaccine Research Centre, while facilitating quicker development of these vaccines.

In November, MSD launched an advertising campaign for its cervical cancer vaccine sold under the Gardasil brand name, encouraging women eligible for the vaccine to get in touch with their doctor for screening and to begin a vaccination series.