AstraZeneca is already within the respiratory syncytial virus market with two merchandise, together with the drug Beyfortus, authorized earlier this yr. An M&A deal will give AstraZeneca an RSV vaccine candidate based mostly on expertise that would assist the corporate compete the place new vaccines are going.

AstraZeneca is buying clinical-stage Icosavax for $800 million up entrance, the pharmaceutical large introduced Tuesday. Below the deal phrases, AstraZeneca pays $15 for every Icosavax share, which is an almost 43% premium to the inventory’s closing worth on Monday. AstraZeneca might pay an extra $5 per share relying on the progress of Icosavax’s vaccine candidates. That payout might carry the worth of the deal to $1.1 billion.

The vaccines of Seattle-based Icosavax make use of virus-like particles (VLPs), that are proteins designed to resemble a virus. As a result of these particles don’t include any viral genetic materials, they’ll’t replicate and trigger an an infection the way in which a virus does. VLPs are already present in nature. Utilizing expertise licensed from the College of Washington, Icosavax engineers particles to show viral antigens that aren’t present in nature. These shows are meant to immediate immune responses to viruses which have eluded vaccine growth efforts. They can be used to develop multivalent vaccines, that are vaccines that deal with a couple of pathogen.

Lead Icosavax program IVX-A12 is a Part 3-ready VLP vaccine that protects in opposition to RSV and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), which at present has no vaccine. The acquisition settlement announcement adopted Icosavax’s report of constructive interim Part 2 information for this bivalent vaccine in older adults. The corporate mentioned this vaccine candidate induced strong immune responses in opposition to each RSV and hMPV at day 28. The opposed results have been ones generally related to vaccines, corresponding to injection website ache and muscle ache. No fever or different severe opposed results have been reported.

AstraZeneca’s presence in RSV is thru antibody medication it developed to guard like vaccines. Its first RSV product was Synagis, an antibody drug that gives protecting antibodies that infants lack. This drug is just authorized to be used in untimely infants and its brief half life signifies that infants should obtain the intramuscular injection month-to-month in the course of the RSV season.

Like Synagis, Beyfortus additionally offers protecting antibodies in opposition to RSV. However this product is engineered to final during the RSV season, so an toddler will want just one shot. AstraZeneca developed Beyfortus in partnership with Sanofi, which is taking the lead on its commercialization.

The pursuit of multivalent vaccines is dominated by messenger RNA-based applied sciences that have been validated in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Pfizer and BioNTech have reached the clinic with an mRNA-based vaccine designed to guard in opposition to influenza and Covid-19. Moderna’s clinical-stage analysis features a bivalent flu and Covid-19 vaccine. The mRNA specialist has yet one more shot designed to guard in opposition to flu, Covid-19, and RSV.

Icosavax’s expertise might assist AstraZeneca stand aside with multivalent vaccines based mostly on a unique expertise. As a protein-based immunization, pictures based mostly on Icosavax’s expertise could possibly be extra inexpensive and extra accessible in additional components of the world in contrast with the mRNA pictures, which nonetheless have strict cold-chain necessities.

“This virus-like particle vaccine expertise has the potential to remodel prevention in opposition to extreme infectious illnesses, together with RSV and hMPV,” Iskra Reic, AstraZeneca’s government vice chairman, vaccines & immune therapies, mentioned in a ready assertion. “With the addition of Icosavax’s Part 3-ready lead asset to our late-stage pipeline, we may have a differentiated, superior investigational vaccine, and a platform for additional growth of mixture vaccines in opposition to respiratory viruses.”

Nonetheless, Icosavax has had some stumbles. Its work with a monovalent Covid-19 vaccine didn’t yield a sufficiently strong immune response. The corporate has accomplished choice of bivalent flu and Covid-19 vaccine candidates, however has determined to not pursue these VLP vaccines for now. The Icosavax pipeline features a monovalent RSV vaccine in Part 1 growth and a preclinical quadrivalent flu vaccine.

AstraZeneca and Icosavax anticipate the transaction will shut within the first quarter of 2024. Below phrases of the merger settlement, if Icosavax terminates the deal, it should owe AstraZeneca a $27.2 million termination charge. If the pharma large spikes the deal, it should owe Icosavax a $47.6 million reverse termination charge.

Photograph: Christopher Furlong, Getty Photographs