Bill Enright, CEO of Vaccitech, one of Milltrust’s British Innovation Fund’s investee companies, discusses how the company is helping the fight against COVID-19 through its research in developing a vaccine.
Vaccitech is an investee company of Milltrust’s British Innovation Fund through our early participation in Oxford Sciences Innovation. The company is working on a program supported by the UK Government at the University of Oxford where co-founder Professor Sarah Gilbert has advised that she could be close to delivering a vaccine of a COVID-19 specific vector, and clinical trials are underway with over 500 patients. Vaccitech has a non-exclusive license to this work, and FDA approval is being sought.
A unique element of the work at Vaccitech is the T cell component to protection, which no other research group is measuring. The Vaccitech vaccine is showing significant efficacy in stimulating high levels of T cells needed to protection whereas DNA, RNA and protein-based vaccines do not.
The series A post money valuation of the company was 86 million USD and the company is now seeking a minimum of 55 million USD which will fund the COVID-19 vaccine development, in addition to its other ongoing work, allowing the firm to manufacture tens of millions of doses later this year.
Vaccitech has also promising clinical data from a phase 1 trial for MERS and is scheduled to commence an additional study in Saudi Arabia as soon as travel restrictions permit.
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