Vaxart Inc (NASDAQ: VXRT) will enable Altesa to focus on developing and commercializing a clinical-stage broad-spectrum antiviral called capsid-binding VapendavirTM.The above antiviral belongs to Vaxart Inc, and Altesa gets the rights following the company’s agreement to sign a worldwide exclusive license.
Altesa to start taking advantage of the license
Altesa operates as a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focusing specifically on developing a wide variety of therapeutics to facilitate the treatment of patients struggling with RNA viruses. Experts believe the RNA viruses to be the root cause of the entire global infectious disease burden.
Vaxart’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrei Floroiu, supports the latest move, terming it a progressive one. He considers Vapendavir as a product with outstanding lifesaving potential when handling a myriad of viral infections. However, the leader says that most of such infections have been rather difficult to treat considering the unavailability of any approved antivirals.
He opines, “This agreement represents another potential value creation lever for Vaxart, even as Vaxart puts its primary emphasis on the development of oral vaccines. Having a partner such as Altesa, led by a scientist and entrepreneur of George Painter’s stature, will accelerate Vapendavir’s development.”
Vapendavir’s effectiveness
As usual, the two companies involved must conform to the terms and conditions of the agreement. As a result, Altesa is now free from moving forward to focus on developing and commercialization of Vaxart’s proprietary formulation of Vapendavir.
On the other hand, Vaxart becomes eligible to obtain almost $130 million from development and commercial milestones. It was back in 2018 that Vaxart announced its acquisition of Vapendavir. At the time, the company had just entered a merger with Aviragen Therapeutics, Inc.
There is every reason to trust Vapendavir, considering the various demonstrations from the preclinical and clinical trials. One thing that comes out rather clearly is Vapendavir’s strength as an active substance against a broad spectrum of enteroviruses. For example, the human rhinovirus (HRV) produces many respiratory infections, and the substance has been proven to have the capacity to eliminate them.