Wyeth signs infectious disease vaccine agreement

Wyeth, the American pharmaceutical manufacturer, has entered into a new collaboration with Intercell, an Austrian company, to use a novel adjuvant in the production of new vaccines for infectious diseases.

For an upfront fee of $77 million (41 million pounds), Wyeth will gain access to Intercell’s IC31 adjuvant for use in various infectious disease programmes.

In addition, Intercell will receive royalties from Wyeth if successful vaccines made using the IC31 adjuvant are successful.

Adjuvants are an important part of modern vaccines as they stimulate the immune system into defending against disease antigens present in vaccines, since in many cases, the antigens alone are not enough for this to happen.

Alexander von Gabain, Intercell’s chief scientific officer, remarked: “We are convinced that our adjuvant IC31 will also generate significant value in the vaccine sector.”

He added that he was pleased to have added Wyeth to their list of partners because of the company’s “high commitment” in developing new vaccines.

Earlier this month, Wyeth’s vaccine for pneumococcal disease, Prevenar, was launched into the UK’s childhood immunisation programme.

Caroline Flint, the health minister, said the vaccine would help to save hundreds of lives from diseases like meningitis and pneumonia. As well as entailing a high risk of death, pneumococcal diseases are likely to leave severe and permanent damage, such as cerebral palsy, deafness and blindness.