University of Melbourne and Sanofi Pasteur to develop human vaccines

Sanofi Pasteur has signed a vaccine development agreement with the University of Melbourne. The alliance was facilitated by UoM Commercial, the university’s commercial engagement services company.

Sanofi Pasteur is the vaccine division of French integrated healthcare leader Sanofi, producing more than 1 billion doses of vaccines yearly to immunise more than 500 million people in the world. The division will now co-fund proof-of-concept studies in relation to technologies developed by the university that can be used by the company to develop novel immune-boosting substances and vaccines against infectious diseases.

Joint project teams will collaborate on the development and execution of specific programs yet to be identified. Sanofi Pasteur will provide support to the university researchers in developing the relevant technologies and will have the first right of refusal to acquire exclusive, worldwide licences to develop and commercialise the technology.

University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor James McCluskey said the university is “excited to continue this strong alliance with Sanofi Pasteur to work towards developing the next generation of vaccines to protect the population against infectious diseases”.

The university has previously partnered with the company on other projects, including developing an investigative vaccine to treat gingivitis and a new adjuvant - a substance added to a vaccine to boost the immune response.