NewLink Genetics has achieved a milestone under the license and collaboration agreement with Merck for the development of the rVSV-EBOV (Ebola) vaccine candidate. NewLink Genetics will receive a $20 million payment for the initiation of a key clinical trial for the vaccine.
 
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. PHAC will be entitled to a payment from NewLink Genetics in connection with this milestone.
 
In November 2014, Merck entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with NewLink gaining an exclusive license to research, develop, manufacture, and distribute the investigational rVSV-EBOV (Ebola) vaccine candidate as well as any follow-on products.
 
“We at NewLink very much appreciate the tremendous support for these studies that we have received from our collaboration partners, including Merck, the government of Canada and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority), the US Department of Defense, and the World Health Organization, each of which has made critical contributions along the way,” said Dr. Charles Link, chairman, chief executive officer, and chief scientific officer of NewLink Genetics. “We hope that the initiation of large scale clinical trials in Africa represent another step forward toward finding a solution for this difficult, global problem.”