BioVaxys Technology Corp. has acquired the entire portfolio of discovery, preclinical and clinical development stage assets in oncology, infectious disease, antigen desensitization, and other immunological fields based on the DPX immune educating platform technology, developed by Canadian biotechnology company, IMV Inc., Immunovaccine Technologies Inc., and IMV USA (IMV).
 
BioVaxys acquired the extensive technology portfolio from HIMV, LLC, an acquisition vehicle formed by Horizon Technology Finance Corporation and IMV’s other secured creditors for the purpose of acquiring IMV’s intellectual property through a secured party credit bid in the proceedings commenced in Canada by IMV under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, as amended (the CCAA).
 
Key transaction elements include a $750,000 upfront cash payment, various clinical development and regulatory milestone payments, a 15% share in license revenues, and a 6% gross sales royalty on product sales (such future gross sales royalties cancellable and extinguishable upon a one-time payment of $25,000,000 in cash) and shares of BioVaxys common stock with a deemed value of $250,000. HIMV will also be entitled to appoint an observer to BioVaxys’s Board of Directors.
 
The DPX antigen delivery platform acquired by BioVaxys is designed to stimulate a specific, coordinated and persistent anti-tumor immune response, improving the lives of patients with solid or hematological cancers. DPX can package a wide range of bioactive molecules in a single formulation, such as multiple nucleic acids/mRNA, proteins, peptides, virus-like particles, innate immune activators, and small molecules, to “feed” them to Dendritic Cells and Antigen Presenting Cells (or “APC’s”) to stimulate a specific immune response.
 
The transaction supplements BioVaxys’ existing cancer vaccine portfolio with the addition of maveropepimut-S (MVP-S), a DPX-formulated cancer vaccine that delivers antigenic peptides from survivin, a cancer antigen commonly overexpressed in advanced cancers. MVP-S also delivers an innate immune activator and a universal CD4 T cell helper peptide. These elements foster maturation of antigen presenting cells as well as robust activation of CD8 T cell effector and memory function.
 
DPX formulations are not limited to cancer immunotherapies. With its unique cargo carrying capacity and non-circulating lipid delivery, there is potential with DPX to develop improved mRNA vaccines, multivalent viral vaccines, vaccines for desensitizing immune response for allergies, and immune system diseases. Prior clinical studies by IMV have supported proof of concept and a superior immune response with a DPX-RSV formulation, DPX-rHA/DPX-FLU influenza vaccine, DPX-packaged survivin/MAGE-Ag for advanced metastatic bladder cancer, and certain other infectious diseases.
 
Through the transaction, BioVaxys has acquired 25 distinct families of patents and/or patent applications, with over one hundred related international filings related to maveropepimut-S, DPX and its use across a range of immune system-related diseases, associated trademarks, and other intellectual property.
 
The deal also assigns to Biovaxys a royalty-bearing License and Supply Agreement with SpayVac for Wildlife Inc., on sales of animal vaccine products using technology acquired by BioVaxys, a milestone payments and royalty bearing license agreement with Pfizer animal health spin-out Zoetis Inc, for their development and sale of various animal health products using the technology acquired by BioVaxys, and German pharmaceuticals company Merck KGaA for survivin proteins.
 
Kenneth Kovan, BioVaxys President & Chief Operating Officer stated: “This is an absolutely transformational transaction for Biovaxys that is synergistic with our pre-existing personalized immunotherapeutic vaccines based on our HapTenix ‘neoantigen’ tumor cell construct platform, and BVX-0918, our ovarian cancer vaccine candidate. The DPX platform and addition of maveropepimut-S to our pre-existing clinical pipeline immediately positions BioVaxys as a major player in ovarian cancer, and expands our pipeline to include advanced Relapsed-Refractory Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), bladder and breast cancer.”
 
It is anticipated that the transaction will fully close within ten days.