OVERVIEW
ImmunoBio is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Company maintains offices at North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus, a public-private technology community with government, corporate and academic research organizations. Corporate laboratories are located near the College of Veterinary Medicine. Our 7600 square foot lab space provides ample facility to conduct basic and pre-clinical research for both human and animal vaccine targets. Our BSL-2 vivariums can house up to 800 animals. We continue to focus on improving the standard of human and veterinarian health through the development of innovative AAC products.
Like many drug delivery companies who bring the benefits of their technology to developers of therapeutic products, IBI’s business strategy is based upon partnerships with developers of human and veterinary vaccines. With each partnership, the Company anticipates receiving funding support for the research, and milestone payments and ongoing royalties from products that incorporate AAC technology and are eventually commercialized.
The Opportunity
The worldwide vaccine market is estimated at approximately $16 billion in total sales, with $12 billion of human vaccines and $4 billion of animal vaccines. While these vaccines address many of the most pressing viral diseases, there is significant opportunity for improvement.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
RSV causes severe respiratory distress among newborns and the elderly. There is no effective vaccine for this viral disease because conventionally prepared RSV vaccines tend to be virulent and can actually cause the disease. MedImmune markets an antibody therapy for infants at-risk for RSV infection, and the product has limited effectiveness, yet generates $800 million in annual revenue. ImmunoBio believes that an AAC based technology could render an RSV vaccine safe for widespread pediatric and geriatric use; a market estimated in excess of $1 billion annually.
Seasonal / Pandemic Influenza
Influenza affects hundreds of millions of people every year, and the young and the elderly are especially susceptible. Although $3.7 billion of influenza vaccine is sold every year, these products don't protect effectively against different strains of influenza, and the influenza virus tends to evolve from the time it is isolated until the time the vaccines can be created, manufactured, distributed and administered. IMMUNOBIO believe that an AAC based influenza vaccine could improve current influenza vaccines by enhancing their cross-strain protection.
Dengue Fever
Dengue is an emerging viral disease where there are presently no effective vaccines and the global vaccine market is estimated at over $1 billion. Under a Collaborative Agreement, Arbovax will use their proprietary technology to develop host range mutations of the dengue 2 virus and these mutants will then be formulated with antibody into immune complexes based on the IMMUNOBIO patented process. New inventions will be jointly held by both companies.
In addition to these human vaccines, AAC technology is well suited to addressing unmet needs in a number of animal health applications. Some of these include:
- Canine Parvovirus.
This $250 million global market is served by vaccine products that require multiple injections, and dog owners must bring their pet back to the vet for each injection. AAC technology can create a one-dose canine parvovirus vaccination, bringing tremendous convenience advantages to this market. - Feline Immunodeficiency Virus.
This $45 million US market is underserved by existing products that are virulent and don’t offer cross-strain protection. An AAC based vaccine could eliminate these deficiencies and significantly grow this market. - Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis, Bovine Viral Diarrhea.
Current vaccines for these cattle diseases represent a $245 million global market, but these vaccines could be much more successful in calves if they could overcome high maternal antibodies. And, because these vaccines can harm pregnant animals, ranchers must incur additional costs to identify and separate pregnant animals prior to vaccination. AAC technology can address these problems. - Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS).
PRRS is a devastating disease for the swine industry, but there are a limited number of commercial vaccines presently sold in this $80 million global market so a novel AAC vaccine could be a significant new product.