LEEDS, England, Oct. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- 4D pharma plc (AIM:
DDDD), a pharmaceutical company leading the development of Live
Biotherapeutics, today announces that the Company has entered into
a research collaboration and option to license agreement with MSD,
the tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, to discover and develop
Live Biotherapeutics ("LBPs") for vaccines.
Under the terms of the agreement 4D's proprietary MicroRx®
platform will be paired with MSD's expertise in the development and
commercialisation of novel vaccines, to discover and develop LBPs
as vaccines in up to three undisclosed indications. 4D has the
right, subject to certain conditions, to cause MSD to purchase
$5 million in ordinary shares in 4D
during the first 12 months of the collaboration. In addition to an
upfront cash payment, for each indication, 4D will be eligible to
receive up to $347.5 million in
option exercise and development and regulatory milestone payments,
plus tiered royalties on annual net sales of any licensed products
derived from the collaboration. MSD will be responsible for
development, manufacturing and commercialisation following the
exercise of any of its exclusive options.
Duncan Peyton, 4D's Chief
Executive Officer, commented: "This research collaboration
agreement brings together 4D's innovation in the microbiome space
and MSD's track record of developing cutting-edge vaccines. MSD and
4D have worked closely combining world leading science to develop a
workplan to advance the understanding of this field, with the aim
of generating a new class of vaccines in areas of high unmet
need."
Daria Hazuda, Chief Scientific
Officer of MSD's Exploratory Science Center and MSD's Vice
President of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines Discovery Research,
commented: "A key element of our focus in the Exploratory Science
Center is the evaluation of emerging new areas of biology that have
the potential to offer major beneficial impact to human health. By
applying 4D's MicroRx® technology we hope to gain meaningful
insights into the role for the host microbiome in modulating the
immune response and ultimately protection conferred by
vaccines."
About 4D
Founded in February 2014, 4D is a
world leader in the development of Live Biotherapeutics, a novel
and emerging class of drugs, defined by the FDA as biological
products that contain a live organism, such as a bacterium, that is
applicable to the prevention, treatment or cure of a disease. 4D
has developed a proprietary platform, MicroRx, that rationally
identifies Live Biotherapeutics based on a deep understanding of
function and mechanism. 4D's Live Biotherapeutic products are
orally delivered single strains of bacteria that are naturally
found in the healthy human gut. The Company has four clinical
studies in progress, namely a Phase II clinical study of Blautix in
Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a Phase I/II study of MRx0518 in
combination with KEYTRUDA® in solid tumours, a Phase I study of
MRx0518 in a neoadjuvant setting for patients with solid tumours
and a Phase I/II study of MRx-4DP0004 in asthma. Other focus
programmes include disease areas such as CNS disease.
About 4D For more information, refer to
https://www.4dpharmaplc.com/ This announcement contains inside
information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation
No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public
domain.
About 4D
For more information, refer to https://www.4dpharmaplc.com/
This announcement contains inside information as defined in
Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon
the publication of this announcement, this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain.
For further information please contact:
4D
Duncan Peyton, Chief Executive
Officer, + 44 (0)113 895 0130
N+1 Singer - Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker, +44 (0)
20 7496 3000
Aubrey Powell/ Justin McKeegan/ Alex
Bond (Corporate Finance)
Tom Salvesen (Corporate Broking)
Bryan Garnier & Co.
Limited - Joint Broker, +44 (0)20 7332 2500
Dominic Wilson /Phil Walker
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SOURCE 4D pharma plc