Benzinga | Jul 1, 2021 08:06AM EDT

Amyris Reports Completion Of First Major License For Leading RNA Vaccine, Advances Technology To Human Trials

Amyris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRS), a leading synthetic biotechnology company active in the Clean Health and Beauty markets through its consumer brands, and a top supplier of sustainable and natural ingredients, today announced that it has signed an exclusive license with Nant Africa, LLC relating to the development and use of the RNA COVID vaccine Amyris developed in coordination with the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI).



The license and collaboration with Nant Africa is expected to generate several million dollars in near term upfront and milestone payments, and also includes long term royalties for the use of the Amyris and IDRI technology on the African continent. The license includes the funding of human clinical trials, which upon successful completion are expected to be followed by the production and scaling of the vaccine in South Africa with a target of reaching patients by the end of this year.

Amyris' partnership with Nant Africa is of significant value to Amyris as it provides the fastest path to market for the Amyris and IDRI RNA technology. Pre-clinical data has demonstrated that this RNA Vaccine technology generates comparable immunity to the currently authorized RNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, without the need for cold chain logistics and with a production cost that is estimated to be around 10X lower. This RNA platform is positioned to make potent, safe and durable COVID vaccines available to all people and not just wealthy countries. Amyris continues to hold options to license exclusive use of this RNA technology for selected oncology and other target therapies.

"Our mission to make the world's leading treatments accessible to all people started with the invention of our Malaria treatment and we are excited to once again make a difference on the African continent through our collaboration with Nant Africa," commented John Melo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amyris. "This partnership accelerates the development of our RNA technology and we believe this will be a critical differentiator globally to make our promising RNA therapies accessible to all," continued Melo. "This is Amyris' first major license in pharma and we expect to build on this momentum as we continue to apply our technology and resources to making our planet healthier and add vaccines and therapeutics to the strong traction we are experiencing with our ingredients and consumer brands."