Vakzine Projekt Management (VPM), a Germany-based vaccine development and consultancy spinout from Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), was acquired by immunobiological drug firm Serum Institute of India for an undisclosed sum today.
The all-cash deal provides an exit to the research centre’s tech transfer partner, Ascenion. Prior to the transaction, 90% of VPM’s equity was held by Ascenion, university sponsor association Friends of the HZI, and pharmaceutical consultancy Corvay.
Friends of the HZI continues to hold a 10% stake in Vakzine following the transaction for “strategic reasons.”
Founded in 2002, VPM is developing vaccines and provides consultancy services to the industry. The company has licensed out three of its five drug candidates to date, including a treatment for tuberculosis, VPM1002, licensed to Serum Institute of India in 2012.
VPM1002’s main mechanism is a recombinant form of Bacille Calmette Guerin, a bacterium related to the agent responsible for tuberculosis and…
