Norovirus vaccine is being developed at a rapid pace. HilleVax invests $135 million to rapidly progress the development. Here’s more about the vaccine.
Norovirus vaccine
Less than two months after spinning out of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, HilleVax, Inc. secured $135 million in crossover financing to advance the development of its Phase III-ready norovirus vaccine.
The funds will be used to support further clinical development of its virus-like particle (VLP) based vaccine candidate, HIL-214, for the prevention of moderate-to-severe acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus infection. HIL-214, formerly known as TAK-214, demonstrated robust efficacy in a Phase IIb study. The norovirus vaccine prevented moderate-to-severe cases of acute gastroenteritis from norovirus infection.
Frazier Healthcare Partners led the crossover financing. Other participants include RA Capital Management, Deerfield Management Company, Abingworth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Perceptive Advisors, Franklin Templeton, Catalys Pacific, Samsara BioCapital, BVF Partners LP, Qiming Venture Partners USA, Greenspring Associates, Richard King Mellon Foundation, and Sahsen Ventures.
Rob Hershberg, chairman, and chief executive officer of HilleVax, touted the investor groups that supported the financing round. Hershberg said they believe the company’s norovirus vaccine has the potential to be the first-ever approved for this indication.
Norovirus is a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus that sickens about 700 million people annually. The virus causes vomiting and diarrhea, as well as stomach pain. Infection is usually brief, a day or two of misery, followed by a quick recovery. Although rare, the virus can be fatal, particularly in elderly adults.
HilleVax isn’t the only company developing a vaccine for norovirus. Earlier this year, Bay Area-based Vaxart released data from a Phase Ib study of its oral norovirus vaccine that showed a second dose boosted immunity.
HilleVax Updates Other Than Norovirus Vaccine
In addition to the financing, HilleVax bolstered its board of directors. Julie Gerberding, executive vice president, and chief patient officer at Merck, former president of Merck Vaccines, and director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, joined the board. Jeri Hilleman. chair of the Board of Omada Health and director and audit chair of public and private life sciences companies and Jaime Sepulveda, executive director of the University of California San Francisco Institute for Global Health Sciences, also joined the HilleVax Board of Directors.
Also joining are Susan Silbermann, the former Global President of Emerging Markets at Pfizer and Global President of Pfizer Vaccines; and Rajeev Venkayya, president of the Global Vaccine Business Unit at Takeda. In connection with the financing, Patrick Heron, managing partner at Frazier; Elise Wang, partner at Deerfield; and Shelley Chu, a partner at Lightspeed, all joined the company’s board of directors.
Hershberg praised the new additions to the board. He said they have extensive experience in vaccines, clinical and commercial development, and capital formation. Therefore, this addition can turn out really good for the development of the Norovirus vaccine.
