Biological E (BE) has signed a licensing agreement for the development of a safe, effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccine with Baylor College of Medicine.

BE has licensed the recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed at Baylor. The company engaged in license negotiations with the BCM Ventures team, part of Baylor College of Medicine. The company will leverage its past experience for the further development and commercialisation of the vaccine candidate, which currently is produced using a proven yeast-based expression technology.

The current focus is on the transfer of the technology for BE to initiate scale-up of the manufacturing process and undertake further development of the vaccine candidate.

“If the vaccine development is successful, we expect to make several hundred million doses of the vaccine available annually,” said Narender Dev Mantena, Director of BioE Holdings, who heads BE’s novel vaccine initiative.

Biological E. has also entered into an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, for the creation/enhancement of manufacturing capacities for drug substance and drug product for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S. Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate is currently in Phase 1/2a clinical trials.

“We are very pleased indeed to collaborate with an organisation like Johnson & Johnson. Given the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to mount an effective response will be predicated on the ability to supply the vaccine globally and in significant quantities. This is best achieved through collaboration,” said Mahima Datla, Managing Director of BE.