Imaxio closes EUR 2.9 million funding round

Imaxio, a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the areas of vaccines and genomics, announces today that it has finalized a funding round in which it raised EUR 2.9 million from its principal shareholder, Pradeyrol Developpement.

This latest injection of funds will enable Imaxio to speed up its organic growth through two major R&D projects. The first is the clinical development of its IMX313 vaccine-carrying protein platform, which is designed to improve the efficacy of vaccinations against various diseases in humans (such as tuberculosis, malaria and cancers) as well as in animals. IMX313 is scheduled to enter clinical development in 2013 and by the end of next year preclinical proof of principle is expected to be established in new indications. Imaxio is thus seeking to conclude co-development and industrial partnership agreements for IMX313 for the purpose of having its carrier protein technology incorporated in new vaccines.

The second project is the international commercialization of its vaccine against human leptospirosis, Spirolept, which is already marketed in France. The company wants to complete the update of its marketing authorization application so as to be able to submit additional applications in other European countries starting in 2015. Although leptospirosis is often benign, the disease can take an acute form and lead to renal failure, or even death, in five to ten per cent of untreated cases.

“We are very pleased with this new investment, which is further confirmation of the confidence that Pradeyrol Developpement has in Imaxio and in the strategy it adopted a year ago,” said Alexandre Le Vert, managing director of Imaxio. “This is an important stage for the company, allowing us to concentrate on two major R&D projects, and especially the IMX313 carrier protein platform for vaccines. The development of vaccines against some major diseases (including tuberculosis and malaria) is being impeded by the inefficacy of vaccine candidates, which could be overcome by the IMX313 carrier protein.”

“As an historic shareholder, it is important for us to support Imaxio’s development strategy, which it adopted a year ago,” said Doctor Christian Pradeyrol, chairman of Pradeyrol Developpement. “The vaccine market is consistently growing, having increased by 21 per cent between 2006 and 2010, which makes it a very promising sector, especially for Imaxio and its carrier protein technology.”

To support its development, Imaxio also relies on numerous institutional and academic partners, such as the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, Pierre Fabre, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the French national influenza research center, and research teams working for Inserm (the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) and the CNRS (France’s National Scientific Research Center) in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Tours, Toulouse and Paris.

About Pradeyrol Developpement

Using its carrier protein technology (IMX313), Imaxio is developing, both individually and with its partners, recombinant vaccines based on carrier proteins for applications in both human and animal health. Carrier proteins are used to improve the effectiveness of vaccines. In France, Imaxio already markets Spirolept(R), a human vaccine against leptospirosis.

Imaxio’s genomics division undertakes diagnostic and therapeutic research in the field of oncology and immunology, as well as providing services in the areas of human health, the agro-food business and the environment.
Imaxio was created through the merger between Diagnogene and Avidis, a spin-off from the Medical Research Council and Cambridge University in the UK. The company owns well-founded intellectual property and collaborates with numerous academic partners, including the Jenner Institute at Oxford University.

Imaxio SA is based in Lyon and at Saint Beauzire, near Clermont-Ferrand in France. It has 24 employees, ten of whom are engaged in R&D. In 2011 it delivered a turnover of EUR 2.4 million.    

For more information, go to: http://www.imaxio.com and http://www.genomics-imaxio.com