Biological E enters into pact to buy Dynavax's adjuvant for use in COVID-19 subunit vaccine

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Biological E (BE) and US biotech Dynavax on July 6 said they have entered into a commercial supply agreement for using Dynavax’s CpG 1018 Adjuvant for Biological E’s COVID-19 subunit vaccine candidate Corbevax.

An adjuvant is a critical component in a vaccine that boosts immune response.

The commercial supply agreement extends through 2022.

The agreement includes doses for delivery in 2021, which were manufactured under the previously announced funding agreement between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Dynavax.

Pending conditional regulatory approvals in India, BE expects to launch Corbevax later this year.

Last month, the Union Ministry of Health announced that it had finalised arrangements with BE to reserve 300 million doses of Corbevax to be manufactured later this year.

The arrangement with BE is part of the wider endeavour from the government to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing financial support.

“We are pleased to collaborate with Dynavax and our collaboration will produce yet another vital vaccine against the spread of COVID-19. We believe Corbevax will play a critical role in eradicating the global pandemic,” said Mahima Datla, Managing Director of BE.

“Dynavax is proud to extend our collaboration with BE with a commercial supply agreement and deliver significant amounts of CpG 1018 in hopes that Corbevax will be an important COVID-19 vaccine protecting people globally regardless of income level,” Ryan Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of Dynavax.

CpG 1018 is the adjuvant used in Recombinant Hepatitis B Vaccine, an adult hepatitis B vaccine approved by the USFDA and the European Commission. Dynavax developed CpG 1018 adjuvant to provide an increased vaccine immune response, which has been demonstrated in HEPLISAV-B.