By Fineline Cube China-based Hybio Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (SHE: 300199) announced that it has signed a technology transfer agreement with the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China’s CDC. The deal grants Hybio licensed use of technical secrets related to peptide sequences for vaccine development.
Agreement Details
Hybio will pay an upfront fee of RMB 10 million (USD 1.47 million) and commit to milestone payments totaling RMB 60 million (USD 8.81 million), along with 10 years of sales commissions for the CDC’s peptide sequences of two polypeptides (M23 and N25) for vaccine use. The agreement covers:
- Patent: “SARS-CoV-2 specific polypeptides and their applications” (patent application number: 202111149547.4).
- Peptide Sequences: Four polypeptides (LJ43, LJ158, LJ71, nCoV-N37) from “Identification and application of T cell-dominant epitopes of novel coronavirus in Chinese population” (patent application number: 202210083824.4).
Preclinical Stage Programs
All programs under the agreement are at the pre-clinical stage. The CDC will provide technical consultation to assist Hybio in animal testing, preclinical research, and clinical application of peptide drugs. Hybio retains the right to sublicense these programs to third parties for industrialization.
COVID-19 Vaccine Landscape
China currently has seven COVID-19 vaccines, including inactivated vaccines from Sinopharm Wuhan Institute, Sinopharm Beijing Institute, and Sinovac, as well as recombinant subunit and adenovirus vector vaccines.-Fineline Info & Tech