Nextmune has signed an agreement to develop new vaccines for allergy and atopic dermatitis together with Angany, a Canadian biotechnology company focused on the development of novel bioparticle-based vaccines.

Nextmune, the operating company within Vimian Group’s Specialty Pharma segment, has signed a development agreement with Angany Inc. Angany is a late pre-clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to allergy treatments and immunotherapy for humans and animals. The company is based in Canada and started operations in 2018 under the leadership of Dr. Louis-Philippe Vézina, Ph.D.

Through the partnership, Nextmune and Angany aim to develop faster acting and more effective vaccines for the long-term prevention of allergy flares in dogs, cats and horses. The development timeline, until commercialization of the products, is expected to five years with possibility for extension. The products developed under the agreement between Angany and Nextmune addresses the rapidly growing allergy and atopic dermatitis market with annual sales of around USD 1 billion. The total payments from Vimian Group to Angany during the development period are estimated to USD 20 million for the products in scope and are conditional upon the successful completion of successive development and market launch milestones from 2022.

“Many companion animals suffer from severe allergies with persistent or recurrent itching, skin lesions or respiratory issues. The available treatments require life-long administration, and frequent visits to the veterinarian. Through this partnership, we aim to develop novel, longer- and faster- acting vaccines to prevent allergy signs in animals. This is a truly exciting, next-generation vaccine opportunity that can improve the quality of life of millions of dogs, cats and horses around the world”, says Magnus Kjellberg, CEO of Nextmune, the operating company within Vimian Group’s Specialty Pharma segment.

Angany has used synthetic biology and translational science to develop an exclusive immunotherapy platform. With this novel generation of immunotherapy products, allergens or other antigens are presented to the immune system under the form of pseudo-pathogens. This triggers a strong and specific immune response that can both neutralize the allergen and suppress the IgE-mediated allergic reaction. Angany’s proprietary eBioparticle™-based biologics and eBioparticle-Potentiated Immunotherapy™ technology offer a disease-modifying approach to allergy and potentially to several other domains of human and animal health. Angany’s technology has strong IP protection including patents and pending patents.

“We are excited to partner with Nextmune and are impressed by the team’s scientific ambitions and profound knowledge of allergy and dermatology among companion animals. Bringing Angany’s new approach to immunotherapy to the pet health space is an exciting next phase in Angany’s development and shows the potential of our proprietary technology platform”, says Dr Louis-Philippe Vézina, CEO of Angany.

The agreement provides Nextmune with an exclusive, perpetual global right to the developed products for all companion animal indications, also beyond allergy and dermatology. As part of the agreement, Nextmune has the right of first refusal to license other bioparticle vaccines for all companion animal indications.