NewLink Genetics and Merck & Co Receives Vaccine Industry Excellence Awards at World Vaccine Congress 2015
April 14 2015 - 7:00AM
- Best Vaccine License - NewLink Genetics and
Merck & Co. Ebola Vaccine Licensing Agreement
- Best Prophylactic Vaccine - NewLink Genetics
and Merck & Co. – rVSV-EBOV for Ebola
NewLink Genetics Corporation (Nasdaq:NLNK), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on bringing novel immunotherapeutic medicines to
cancer patients globally, announced that the Company and Merck
& Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) (Kenilworth, NJ), known as MSD outside
the United States and Canada, received two Vaccine Industry
Excellence (ViE) awards presented during the 15th Annual World
Vaccine Congress on April 8 Washington, D.C. The ViE Awards honor
the efforts, accomplishments, and positive contributions of
companies and individuals in the vaccine industry.
NewLink Genetics and Merck & Co. received top honors in both
the "Best Vaccine License" and "Best Prophylactic Vaccine"
categories.
The "Best Vaccine License" finalists represented industry
business combinations with the greatest potential for success in
bringing innovative medicines to the market. In November 2014,
NewLink Genetics and Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of
Merck & Co., Inc., entered into an exclusive worldwide license
and collaboration agreement on the investigational rVSV-EBOV
(Ebola) vaccine candidate as well as any follow-on products. Under
the agreement, Merck obtained an exclusive license to research,
develop, manufacture and distribute rVSV-EBOV. The rVSV-EBOV
vaccine candidate was originally developed by the Public Health
Agency of Canada (PHAC) and licensed by BioProtection Systems,
Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of NewLink Genetics.
Under the terms of the license and collaboration agreement,
NewLink Genetics received an upfront payment of $30 million from
Merck. In February of this year, NewLink Genetics earned a $20
million milestone payment relating to the initiation of a pivotal
clinical trial in Africa. NewLink Genetics has the ability to earn
royalties on future potential sales of the vaccine, if approved by
regulatory agencies in specified countries based on certain
economic criteria.
NewLink Genetics and Merck also received the "Best Prophylactic
Vaccine" award for NewLink Genetics' investigational rVSV-EBOV
vaccine candidate. Vaccines from Sanofi Pasteur, GSK, J&J and
Pfizer were among the 6 finalists competing with NewLink Genetics
and Merck. Merck & Co., also received the Best Pharma Company
award.
"We appreciate the World Vaccine Congress' recognition of
NewLink Genetics' leadership and innovation in advancing critical
vaccines such as rVSV-EBOV for Ebola and other difficult global
infectious diseases," said Charles J. Link, Jr., M.D., Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of NewLink Genetics. "With NewLink
Genetics' and Merck's combined expertise and commitment to vaccine
development, we see great promise in our ability to deliver novel
treatment options for these important global health concerns."
"We are delighted to see our collaboration with NewLink receive
this level of recognition from our industry colleagues," said Mark
Feinberg, MD, PhD, chief public health and science officer, Merck
Vaccines. "These awards also recognize the close working
relationship we have established in developing our rVSV-ZEBOV
vaccine candidate."
About the ViE Awards
The World Vaccine Congress & Expo, now in its 15th year, is
the largest and most comprehensive event in the industry. Covering
everything from R&D to manufacturing to corporate development
strategies, the Congress hosts the only awards ceremony dedicated
to the vaccine industry. The ViE Awards honor individuals,
organizations and initiatives, which have made significant
contributions over the past 12 months to innovation in the field of
vaccines.
About NewLink Genetics Corporation
NewLink Genetics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
discovering, developing and commercializing novel immunotherapeutic
products to improve treatment options for patients with cancer.
NewLink Genetics' portfolio includes biologic and small molecule
immunotherapy product candidates intended to treat a wide range of
oncology indications. NewLink Genetics' product candidates are
designed to harness multiple components of the immune system to
combat cancer without significant incremental toxicity, either as a
monotherapy or in combination with other treatment regimens.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements of
NewLink Genetics that involve substantial risks and uncertainties.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts,
contained in this press release are forward-looking statements,
within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "may," "plan," "target," "potential," "will," "could,"
"should," "seek," or the negative of these terms or other similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these
identifying words. These forward-looking statements include, among
others, statements regarding the following: plans to develop our
product candidates and any other statements other than statements
of historical fact. Actual results or events could differ
materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in
the forward-looking statements that NewLink Genetics makes due to a
number of important factors, including those risks discussed in
"Risk Factors" and elsewhere in NewLink Genetics' Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2014, and subsequent
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
forward-looking statements in this press release represent NewLink
Genetics' views as of the date of this press release. NewLink
Genetics anticipates that subsequent events and developments will
cause its views to change. However, while it may elect to update
these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it
specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. You should,
therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as
representing NewLink Genetics' views as of any date subsequent to
the date of this press release.
CONTACT: Corporate Contact:
Jack Henneman
Chief Financial Officer, NewLink Genetics
515-598-2561
Investor@linkp.com
Investors:
Donna LaVoie
LaVoieHealthScience
617-374-8800, ext. 107
dlavoie@lavoiehealthscience.com
Media:
David Connolly
LaVoieHealthScience
617-374-8800, ext. 108
dconnolly@lavoiehealthscience.com
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