Valneva and Scottish Enterprise in Advanced Discussions for Major
Grant to Complete Livingston Site
Saint Herblain
(France),
December 23,
2021 – Valneva SE (Nasdaq: VALN; Euronext Paris:
VLA), a specialty vaccine company, today announced that it is in
advanced discussions, with Scottish Enterprise, for a multi-million
pound grant which will enable it to fully complete its strategic
manufacturing site in Livingston, Scotland.
Following the termination of the supply
agreement with the UK Government (HMG) for Valneva’s inactivated
COVID-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001, Valneva paused its site plans.
Valneva and Scottish Enterprise have since engaged in a highly
constructive dialogue, and under the proposed grant, the Livingston
site will be fully developed as a key vaccine production site for
the long term.
Both Valneva and Scottish Enterprise would
invest in the plant. Scottish Enterprise’s contribution is expected
to be through a series of grants totalling £10-20 million to enable
Valneva to commence production at the plant. Discussions between
the Company and the Scottish Government also include potential
supply of VLA2001 for Scotland in the future, subject to regulatory
approval. Valneva has also offered to make up to 25,000 doses of
VLA2001 available for primary immunisation, free of charge, to
National Health Service and frontline workers in Scotland, subject
to regulatory approval. The grant is subject to contract and final
due diligence and is expected to include commitments to jobs for
the future in Livingston.
Commenting, David Lawrence, Acting Chief
Financial Officer, said “We’re pleased that we’ve been
able to advance discussions with Scottish Enterprise quickly,
following the UK Government’s unexpected decision to terminate our
supply agreement with them. We’ve reported excellent Phase 3 data
and homologous booster data in the past couple of months,
underlining the potential importance of VLA2001 – our inactivated,
adjuvanted whole virus vaccine. Subject to regulatory approval we
want to make VLA2001 available to people who need it, as soon as we
can. We already have some vaccine stock available for distribution,
upon approval. The grant will be very welcome and, subject to
contract, will ensure that Livingston becomes a strategic vaccine
manufacturing site for the future, successfully completing the work
we began with HMG”.
Ivan McKee, Scottish
Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism
and Enterprise, said “Valneva is a valued
contributor to our life sciences sector and the Livingston facility
is an important asset, developing vaccines for the treatment of
several important infectious diseases and supporting high quality
jobs. Ministers and Scottish Enterprise are in advanced discussions
with the company to agree a package of support which would underpin
the company’s operations in Scotland.”
Hannah
Bardell, MP for Livingston, added
“I am delighted that the Scottish Government and Scottish
Enterprise have listened to my constituency colleagues and I by
agreeing to invest in Valneva’s vaccine manufacturing site in
Livingston. This funding will enable Valneva to complete its
expansion, boosting vital production capacity and protecting
skilled jobs. It has been a pleasure to work with all involved in
securing this agreement and I can only hope the UK Government will
see the faith that we in Scotland have in Valneva.”
Valneva is continuing to try to reach an
amicable resolution with HMG regarding its termination of the
supply agreement and performance of the ongoing clinical trial
agreement. The Company continues to reserve all rights in the event
that an amicable outcome is not achieved.
About VLA2001
VLA2001 is currently the only whole virus,
inactivated, adjuvanted vaccine candidate against COVID-19 in
clinical trials in Europe. It is intended for active immunization
of at-risk populations to prevent carriage and symptomatic
infection with COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic and potentially
later for routine vaccination including addressing new variants.
VLA2001 may also be suited for boosting, as repeat booster
vaccinations have been shown to work well with whole virus
inactivated vaccines. VLA2001 is produced on Valneva’s established
Vero-cell platform, leveraging the manufacturing technology for
Valneva’s licensed Japanese encephalitis vaccine, IXIARO®. VLA2001
consists of inactivated whole virus particles of SARS-CoV-2 with
high S-protein density, in combination with two adjuvants, alum and
CpG 1018. This adjuvant combination has consistently induced higher
antibody levels in preclinical experiments than alum-only
formulations and shown a shift of the immune response towards Th1.
CpG 1018 adjuvant, supplied by Dynavax Technologies Corporation
(Nasdaq: DVAX), is a component of the US FDA- and EMA-approved
HEPLISAV-B® vaccine. The manufacturing process for VLA2001, which
has already been upscaled to final industrial scale, includes
chemical inactivation to preserve the native structure of the
S-protein. VLA2001 is expected to conform with standard cold chain
requirements (2 degrees to 8 degrees Celsius).
About Valneva SE
Valneva is a specialty vaccine company focused
on the development and commercialization of prophylactic vaccines
for infectious diseases with significant unmet medical need. The
Company takes a highly specialized and targeted approach to vaccine
development and then applies its deep understanding of vaccine
science to develop prophylactic vaccines addressing 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, the chikungunya virus
and COVID-19.
Media
& Investors ContactsLaëtitia Bachelot-FontaineVP
Global Communications & European Investor RelationsM +33 (0)6
4516 7099
laetitia.bachelot-fontaine@valneva.com |
Joshua
Drumm, Ph.D.VP Global Investor RelationsM +001 917 815
4520joshua.drumm@valneva.com |
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This press release contains certain
forward-looking statements relating to the business of Valneva,
including with respect to the progress, timing, results and
completion of research, development and clinical trials for product
candidates, relating to regulatory approval of product candidates,
and estimates for future performance. In addition, even if the
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particular, the expectations of Valneva could be affected by, among
other things, uncertainties involved in the development and
manufacture of vaccines, unexpected clinical trial results,
unexpected regulatory actions or delays, competition in general,
currency fluctuations, the impact of the global and European credit
crisis, and the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other
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preclinical studies or earlier clinical trials may not be
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- 2021_12_23_VLA2001_Scot_Ent_PR_EN_Final
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