Clover Biopharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage firm developing a Covid-19 vaccine with potential manufacturing and distribution advantages over other vaccine technologies, has raised $230 million as it prepares to advance its lead candidate into pivotal testing.
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Chengdu, China-based Clover said Tuesday that it expects to start a global Phase 2/3 clinical trial for its vaccine candidate, SCB-2019, in the first half of this year. The company added that it has already started planning for the production of potentially hundreds of millions of vaccine doses.
The Clover Covid-19 vaccine is protein-based. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 infection, is an enveloped RNA virus—the outer coating is dotted with spike proteins that bind to a receptor on the host cell. These spikes are trimeric, meaning they’re formed by three proteins.
Using its Trimer-Tag technology, Clover developed a trimeric spike protein that resembles the one found on the outer envelope of the novel coronavirus. The vaccine uses an adjuvant, an ingredient that boosts immune response, supplied by Dynavax Technologies.
As a protein-based vaccine similar to many of the vaccines developed for influenza, shingles, and hepatitis B, Clover said production can use manufacturing processes that are already well established. The company added that this production can be rapidly scaled up to large quantities.
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Another advantage of the Clover vaccines are the temperature requirements. The company said its vaccines and adjuvant should be stable for long periods at refrigerator temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. At room temperature, Clover has said its vaccines are stable for at least two months. Those temperature and storage requirements stand in contrast to messenger RNA vaccines, which must be distributed frozen and stored at temperatures well below what medical-grade freezers can achieve. Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech asked the FDA to approve a change in the storage temperatures permitted once vaccines reach a vaccination site.
The new financing follows publication in The Lancet earlier this month of peer-reviewed results from an early-stage test of two Clover Covid-19 vaccine candidates. The 150-patient study showed that the vaccines were well tolerated and safe. Both vaccines also induced neutralizing antibodies at levels comparable to or higher than those found in the blood of those who have recovered from Covid-19.
Clover said that its research includes vaccines that could address multiple variants of the novel coronavirus. In addition to supporting its Covid-19 vaccines, Clover said the new capital will support plans to advance multiple programs into human testing later this year. Other vaccines in the Clover pipeline include programs for rabies and influenza. The company also said it plans to expand its manufacturing and capabilities.
GL Ventures and Temasek both led the Series C financing. Oceeanpine Capital, OrbiMed, and Delos Capital also invested. Clover said it has raised more than $400 million in the past year.
Clover also has financial support from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which has committed to finance development of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate up through licensure with a total investment of $328 million. Some of that cash will fund the global Phase 2/3 study. If the Clover vaccine is shown to be safe and effective, it would be distributed through Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX, the World Health Organization’s initiative to ensure equitable vaccine access throughout the world.
Public domain photo by Flickr user Alachua County
