Imaxio and AJ Biologics announce the execution of a collaboration agreement to extend the commercialisation of Imaxio’s leptospirosis vaccine in Malaysia

Imaxio, a biotech company specialising in immunology, announces today the execution of a license agreement with AJ Biologics, a Malaysian company dedicated to vaccine manufacturing and commercialization, as part of the company’s strategy to extend the distribution of Imaxio’s leptospirosis vaccine in Malaysia.

Imaxio is a French SME developing an early clinical stage pipeline of vaccine candidates based on its proprietary technology named IMX313, as well as commercialising in France a vaccine indicated in humans for the prevention of leptospirosis due to Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae.

AJ Biologics, a subsidiary of AJ Pharma Holding, is focused on establishing Malaysia’s first state-of-the-art vaccine formulation, fill and finish facility that adheres to cGMP and international accreditation standards. AJ Biologics’ facility is expected to be in production by 2018.

The Imaxio’s vaccine targeting Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae has been developed in the 1970’s by the Pasteur Institute (Paris) and is marketed in France since 1979.

Imaxio will be in charge of its manufacturing, whereas AJ Biologics will be responsible for related regulatory, distribution, marketing and sales operations. The collaboration agreement is currently limited to Malaysia where the marketing authorization application of the vaccine will be submitted soon. The partnership between Imaxio & AJ Biologics however may be extended to other ASEAN territories

“We are very pleased to sign this agreement with AJ Biologics, as it opens to us the Malaysian market and potentially additional ASEAN territories”, declared Mr. Alexandre Le Vert, Imaxio’s Chief Executive Officer. “It is a strategic imperative for us to expand the reach of our vaccine beyond France and we are very proud to participate in the fight against leptospirosis in Malaysia.”

“Leptospirosis is a public health concern in tropical countries such as Malaysia, therefore there is a need for such a vaccine, and we plan to launch it in the shortest possible time”, added Mr. Selvam Ramaraj, Director of AJ Biologics.

“Our collaboration with Imaxio allows us to provide this vaccine in Malaysia for the first time and we look forward for a collaboration for other countries of the region also to further add to our mission to save lives and prevent diseases globally”, stated Dr. Tabassum Khan, Managing Director of AJ Pharma Holding.

Leptospirosis is a potentially fatal zoonotic disease which is transmitted from urine of animals like rats to humans by direct contact or through contaminated waters.

Leptospirosis is widespread in Asian tropical countries, particularly during flooding caused by monsoon or heavy rains, and national healthcare authorities and professionals now consider it as a re-emerging endemic disease. In Malaysia, where the leptospirosis case fatality rate is between 2 and 8%, there has been a 15-fold increase in the number of human cases of leptospirosis between 2004 and 2012.