Valneva and BliNK Therapeutics launch new biotech company

France-based biotech firm Valneva (EPA: VLA) and privately-held UK company BliNK Therapeutics have created a private company specialized in the discovery of innovative monoclonal antibodies to be headquartered in Lyon, France, and to be named BliNK Biomedical SAS.

The new company, which will benefit from the combination of two validated antibody discovery platforms, BliNK Therapetics’ IVV and Valneva’s VIVA|Screen, has already secured its first round of financing.

The creation of BliNK Biomedical SAS will give Valneva’s antibody business the necessary structure and prospects to expand into novel antibody discovery fields outside of infectious diseases while offering a new investment opportunity for future additional shareholders. While Valneva intends to retain a substantial ownership interest in the new entity, BliNK Biomedical SAS will be run as an independent business by its own management team. This step will allow Valneva to concentrate on vaccines research, development and commercialization. At the same time, Valneva will continue to benefit from its VIVA|Screenantibody technology through its financial participation in the new company.