Valneva inks deal with Sanofi Pasteur for US distribution of Ixiaro

France-based biotech firm Valneva (Euronext: VLA), a pure-play vaccine company, says that its fully-owned US subsidiary Intercell USA has entered into distribution and marketing services agreements with VaxServe, a Sanofi Pasteur company (Sanofi; Euronext: SAN), for Valneva’s Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine Ixiaro in the USA.

This collaboration is part of Valneva’s strategy to commercialize Ixiaro through a combination of its own sales and marketing infrastructure and distribution agreements with established local partners at favorable terms.

Financial terms of the agreements between Valneva’s Intercell USA unit and VaxServe were not disclosed. Valneva’s shares gained 2.3% to 3.60 euros following the news.