Street Calls of the Week
Investing.com -- Evaxion Biotech AS (NASDAQ:EVAX) stock surged 33% in premarket trading Thursday after the clinical-stage TechBio company announced that MSD (NYSE:MRK) has exercised its option to license Evaxion’s vaccine candidate EVX-B3.
Under the agreement, Evaxion will receive $7.5 million upfront and is eligible for up to $592 million in future development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments, plus royalties on net sales. MSD, known as Merck & Co . in the United States, will take full responsibility for further development of the preclinical vaccine candidate.
EVX-B3 targets a pathogen associated with repeated infections and serious medical complications for which no vaccines currently exist. The candidate was identified using Evaxion’s AI-Immunology™ platform, which the company says can uncover novel targets that might otherwise remain undiscovered.
"This has significant financial value for us, but equally important is the massive validation of our AI-Immunology™ platform by MSD, the world leader in vaccine development and commercialization," said Birgitte Rønø, CSO and interim CEO of Evaxion.
The cash payment extends Evaxion’s runway into the first half of 2027. Additionally, Evaxion and MSD have agreed to extend the evaluation period for another vaccine candidate, EVX-B2, which targets Gonorrhea. A decision on potential in-licensing of EVX-B2 is now expected in the first half of 2026.
The collaboration between the two companies was originally established in September 2023 and expanded a year later through the option and license agreement.
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