VaxInnate closes $30M financing

VaxInnate Corp, a US biotechnology firm pioneering technology that it says "could dramatically improve the potency, manufacturing capacity and  cost effectiveness of vaccines," has closed a $30.0 million in new  series D financing, led by its newest investor, the Wellcome Trust. New  Leaf Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, HealthCare Ventures, Oxford  Bioscience Partners, MedImmune Ventures and CHL Medical Ventures,  representing all existing shareholders, also participated in the  financing.

The funds will be used for the development of the company's vaccines for  infectious diseases that include influenza, human papillomavirus,  respiratory syncytial virus and dengue. Specifically, the the firm plans  to fund several clinical trials, including a Phase II study of its M2e  universal flu vaccine and a Phase I  trial of its seasonal flu vaccine  in an elderly population.

VaxInnate is already working on a prototype swine flu vaccine that could  be available for preclinical animal studies in as early as six weeks. If  successful, VaxInnate's swine flu vaccine could be manufactured in a  matter of weeks and at volumes sufficient to rapidly meet global  vaccination needs.