A UK company developing technology spun out of the University of Queensland is poised for growth after being acquired by biopharmaceutical giant Sanofi for up to $1.6 billion.
In the largest ever deal involving a company commercialising IP from an Australian university, Sanofi will acquire London-based biotech Vicebio to advance and commercialise UQ’s Molecular Clamp platform.
The platform gained worldwide attention when it was fast-tracked during the COVID-19 pandemic and used in one of Australia’s first vaccine candidates.
UQ vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said the landmark deal demonstrated the global value of the university’s innovation pipeline, describing it as an “extraordinary outcome [that] validates 12 years of UQ research.”
“The acquisition is a compelling vote of confidence in the strength of Australian university research to develop innovations that can be translated into life-saving solutions with a world-leader in the vaccine space.”
Professor Terry commended Professor Keith Chappell, Professor Dan Watterson and Emeritus Professor Paul Young for their “tremendous passion for research that delivers for the public good”.
UQ researchers developed the proprietary technology to enable faster and more effective development of vaccines for viral disease, with a “key advantage… that it streamlines vaccine development across different viral families,” according to Professor Chappell.
“This is incredibly important for outbreak responses but facilitates the efficient development of multi-pathogen vaccines that we believe will protect vulnerable populations against common viruses that cause severe respiratory diseases,” he added.
The UQ research team developed the technology over more than a decade, with initial support from the Queensland Government and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
Under the terms of the acquisition, UQ and its commercialisation arm, UniQuest will receive a portion of the upfront payment and future development and commercial milestone payments.
Through UniQuest, UQ has registered more than 360 US patents and created over 130 startup companies.
“These companies have gone on to raise more than $1 billion to take UQ technology to market and grossed more than $86 billion in product sales,” Professor Terry said.
They include the licensing of the UQ-invented cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, and more recently Spinifex Pharmaceuticals and Inflazome, another two of the largest university startup acquisitions in Australian history.
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