Valneva enters deals with Delta-Vir

Biotech firm Valneva (Euronext: VLA), the company recently created through the merger of France’s Vivalis and Austria’s Intercell (The Pharma Letter May 14), has signed an agreement with German biopharmaceutical company Delta-Vir GmbH, for the production of Newcastle disease virus, which is a component of its novel cancer therapy vaccine, in Valneva’s EB66 production cell line.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed but do include upfront and annual maintenance payments. The deal, which also includes a commercial option, will allow Delta-Vir to enter clinical trials with its first vaccine candidate DVG01, which has been developed to treat patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM is the most aggressive form of brain cancer which leads to the death of around 7,200 people per year in Europe, with the global market for this indication estimated at around 2.58 billion euros ($3.39 billion).

Delta-Vir’s autologous cell therapy, which has already been used in human patients, appears to be safe with no adverse events being reported to date. If successful, DVG01 will be the first live virus produced in the EB66 cell line administered to humans. Delta-Vir expects to file a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) in Europe for a confirmatory clinical trial in the second half of 2014.