Bharat Biotech collaborates with US-based Alopexx to develop antimicrobial vaccine

As part of the collaboration, the companies will co-develop and commercialise the vaccine— AV0328— in India and other licensed territories, said Bharat Biotech in a formal statement

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech on Wednesday announced its collaboration with US-based Alopexx Inc for development and commercialisation of the latter’s broad-spectrum anti-microbial vaccine in India and other low-income countries, which experts feel could be a game-changer in tackling the growing anti-microbial resistance (AMR) threat.

Alopexx would be entitled to a one-time upfront payment and milestone payments, as well as royalties on future. (Representative file photo)

As part of the collaboration, the companies will co-develop and commercialise the vaccine— AV0328— in India and other licensed territories, said Bharat Biotech in a formal statement.

“Our goal is to develop solutions to reduce anti-microbial resistance through vaccination. This collaboration aligns with our mission to provide safe, affordable, and high-quality vaccines to combat infectious diseases globally,” said Krishna Ella, executive chairman, Bharat Biotech

Alopexx CEO, Daniel Vlock, said about the collaboration that it brings the company one step closer to addressing the critical need for affordable, broad-spectrum antimicrobial solutions, especially in low-and middle-income countries.

He further said that the support of Bharat Biotech is not only crucial for the advancement of AV0328 but will also significantly bolster their overall clinical programmes.

“The broad and breakthrough potential of our platforms in treating a wide array of bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections represents a transformative approach to combating infectious diseases on a global scale,” he said.

Alopexx would be entitled to a one-time upfront payment and milestone payments, as well as royalties on future sales of AV0328 in the licensed territories, it added.

According to the company statement, phase I, first-in-human trial, has been completed, demonstrating that AV0328 is well-tolerated with no serious adverse events observed.

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spreading to others.

According to a paper published in The Lancet in May, if the world does not prioritise action on AMR now, there will be a steady increase in the global death toll – currently 4.95 million per year from infections linked to AMR – with young infants, elderly people, and people with chronic illnesses or requiring surgical procedures at the highest risk.

According to the paper, an estimated 7.7 million deaths globally are caused by bacterial infections – 1 in 8 of all global deaths, each year, making bacterial infections the second largest cause of death globally.

Out of these bacterial infection deaths, almost 5 million are associated with bacteria which have developed resistance to antibiotics.

The paper added that a third of deaths in newborn babies globally are caused by infections and half of those to sepsis (a potentially lethal system-wide response to infection). Increasingly, the bacteria or fungi which cause these infections are no longer responding to most readily available antibiotics, for instance, in a study including 11 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America between 2018-2020, 18% of babies with sepsis did not survive despite being given antibiotics.

According to WHO (World Health Organisation), the role of vaccines in combating antimicrobial resistance is going to be significant going forward.

Addressing antimicrobial resistance starts with preventing infections, vaccines are, therefore, an important tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

“A vaccine directly blocks the transmission of pathogens that cause infections. Decreasing this transmission decreases the number of infections and reduces the chance of a pathogen mutating to a drug-resistant form,” read WHO’s document on role of vaccines in combating antimicrobial resistance.

In addition, people protected by vaccines are less likely to get sick as often, which helps reduce the overall consumption of antibiotics. Since antibiotics are often inappropriately prescribed for viral infections, like colds and flu, vaccines against these viral infections could reduce inappropriate antibiotic use and help prevent AMR.”

Overall, vaccines decrease the risk of both acquiring and transmitting resistant pathogens and help to reduce antibiotic use, added the UN health body.