Oragenics Inc. and Aragen Bioscience Enter Agreement to Accelerate Development of TerraCoV2, a SARS-CoV-2 (COVID 19) Vaccine Candidate
TAMPA, Fla. & MORGAN HILL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE American: OGEN), (the “Company” or “Oragenics”), today announced, that through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Noachis Terra, it has entered into an agreement with Aragen Bioscience, a leading contract research organization focused on accelerating pre-clinical biologics product development, to advance TerraCov2 the Company’s SARS CoV-2 vaccine candidate. Under the terms of the agreement, Aragen will provide cell line development services to Oragenics to aid in the development of Oragenics' TerraCoV2, which could provide specific immunity from the novel coronavirus (“SARS-CoV-2”), the root cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”).
“Developing a variety of vaccine alternatives is critical to bringing the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic under control. Utilizing the technology created at NIH with Aragen’s pre-clinical development capabilities will help us accelerate the development of the TerraCov2 vaccine candidate. We believe the relationship between the companies will result in advancement of the vaccine candidate into the clinic as rapidly as possible,” said Alan Joslyn, Ph.D., President and CEO of Oragenics.
"We're delighted to initiate this project with Oragenics. Our hope is that the combined efforts of Oragenics and Aragen can accelerate TerraCoV2 development and provide a vital response to COVID-19 and the devastating pandemic it has caused," said Axel Schleyer, CEO of Aragen.
About Oragenics, Inc.
Oragenics, Inc. is focused on the creation of the TerraCoV2 immunization product candidate to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic and the further development of effective treatments for novel antibiotics against infectious disease and oral mucositis. Through Noachis Terra, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oragenics, the Company is dedicated to the development and commercialization of a vaccine candidate providing specific immunity from the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. The TerraCoV2 immunization leverages coronavirus spike protein research conducted by the National Institute of Health, which issued a worldwide, nonexclusive intellectual property license to Noachis Terra. In addition, Oragenics also has two exclusive worldwide channel collaborations, one with Precigen, Inc.’s subsidiaries relating to the treatment of oral mucositis and the other with ILH Holdings, Inc., relating to the development of novel antibiotics.
For more information about Oragenics, please visit www.oragenics.com.
About Aragen Bioscience, Inc.
Aragen Bioscience, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GVK BIO, is a leading contract research organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Aragen Bioscience offers a diverse set of in vitro and in vivo services for the discovery, production, characterization, activity and efficacy assessment and development of biologic and diagnostic products. www.aragenbio.com
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Oragenics Contacts:
Corporate:
Michael Sullivan, 813-286-7900
Chief Financial Officer
msullivan@oragenics.com
or
Investors:
John Marco
Managing Director
CORE IR
516-222-2560
johnm@coreir.com
Media:
Jules Abraham
CORE IR
917-885-7378
julesa@coreir.com
Aragen Bioscience Inc. Contact:
Alexa Martinez
Aragen Bioscience, Inc.
408-201-3547
amartinez@aragenbio.com
Source: Oragenics, Inc.
Released May 19, 2020