On the heels of a $42 million supply contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, France’s Valneva has netted another big funding source. Through a loan with the European Investment Bank, the biotech will have access to €25 million to fund vaccine pipeline work.
Valneva, which currently markets vaccines against Japanese encephalitis and cholera, will put the money to use in areas including Lyme disease, the only such program in the industry, and Zika, according to a release.
While it’s set to enter Phase I with its Lyme disease candidate yet this year, the company is also working on vaccines against Pseudomonas aeruginosa--which failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase II/III trial--and Clostridium difficile. The Lyon-based company is seeking to lock down a partnership on that candidate, which it says is “Phase III ready.”
EIB's loan follows a $42 million supply contract the company inked with the U.S. Department of Defense in March for Ixiaro, a Japanese encephalitis vaccine.
Last year, Valneva brought in revenues and grants worth €83.3 million, a 96.4% increase over 2014’s total of €42.4 million, but still €8.5 million short of expenses. The company said it expects to break even in 2016.
- here’s the release
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