Themis Bioscience, a Viennese based immunomodulation therapies company, has been granted fast track designation to the Company’s lead vaccine candidate (MV-CHIK) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The fast track process is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of investigational drugs to treat severe conditions and fill an unmet medical need. Themis are currently developing the Chikungunya vaccine using their measles virus vector platform. Chikungunya has been identified in over 60 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas and remains a major public health concern due to the increased outbreak prevalence. The FDA decision to grant fast track designation to the vaccine recognises the urgency to prevent this disease and support Themis’ upcoming Phase 3 development efforts.
The program is the most advanced Chikungunya vaccine candidate and has already successfully completed Phase 2 clinical development with results recently published in The Lancet. The Themis platform technology was originally licenced from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France. This platform allows for rapid development and up-scaling of a cost-effective vaccine production process and benefits from the measles vaccine’s excellent track record for efficacy and safety.
GreyRigge Associates has been working closely with Themis since 2012 and has assisted in helping progress a number of its products to their current positions as well as being heavily involved in helping secure almost £4m in non-dilutive funding from the UK government for the development of their vaccines.