Pfizer Inc. and Acuitas Therapeutics, a company focused on developing lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems to enable messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutics, announced they have entered into a Development and Option agreement under which Pfizer will have the option to license, on a non-exclusive basis, Acuitas’ LNP technology for up to 10 targets for vaccine or therapeutic development.
Acuitas’ clinically-validated LNP technology is used in COMIRNATY®, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
“Our swift delivery of the world’s first mRNA-LNP-based vaccine made clear the promise of mRNA-LNP technology,” said Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and President, Worldwide Research, Development and Medical of Pfizer Inc. “We are making significant investments to harness the power of the mRNA-LNP technology and deliver potential new breakthrough vaccines and therapeutics that address significant unmet needs for patients. This agreement expands our LNP capabilities and allows us to explore more projects within our existing vaccines area and new therapeutic areas where mRNA-LNP technology holds potential for success.”
“Acuitas is extremely proud that its LNP technology contributes to the success of COMIRNATY® and is excited to be working with Pfizer to advance new vaccines and therapeutic products,” said Dr. Thomas Madden, President & CEO of Acuitas Therapeutics.
About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients’ Lives
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world’s premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us.
About Acuitas Therapeutics
Founded in February 2009, Vancouver-based Acuitas Therapeutics is a private biotechnology company that specializes in the development of delivery systems for nucleic acid therapeutics based on lipid nanoparticles. The company partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and academic institutes to advance nucleic acid therapeutics into clinical trials and to the marketplace. The team works with partners to develop new therapies to address unmet clinical needs based on its internationally recognized capabilities in delivery technology. Acuitas Therapeutics has agreements in place with several partners to use its proprietary lipid nanotechnology in the development of COVID-19 vaccines. These include Pfizer/BioNTech for COMIRNATY®, which has received full approval in the U.S. and Canada and is authorized for Emergency Use in Europe, the UK and many other countries.
