Themis Bioscience extends Institut Pasteur agreement over developing Zika vaccine

Austria-based biotech Themis Bioscience has extended its existing license agreement with France’s Institut Pasteur over the development of a Zika vaccine.

The existing agreement grants the company broad access to a well-established virus vaccine vector technology, the safety and tolerability profile of which was already proven in a Phase I trial when the two partners used the platform for the development of a first in class Chikungunya vaccine, which will enter into Phase II later this year.

Now, as part of the extension of the license agreement, the platform will also be applied for the development of a Zika vaccine, a high priority project within Themis' pipeline.