US-based Primrose Bio, Inc., a company with proprietary manufacturing technologies for human therapeutics, and Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, have announced a collaboration to develop a novel multi-antigen vaccine for infections that affect millions of people globally.

Both companies will contribute towards the design of the vaccine with Primrose fully responsible for developing manufacturing strains using its Pfenex Expression Technology and SII responsible for further development and commercialisation.

"We are eager to strengthen our long-standing relationship with Primrose to develop a new vaccine with the potential to save millions of lives globally," said Dr Umesh Shaligram, Executive Director of Serum Institute of India. "This ambitious programme faces many technical challenges, which become more difficult when aiming for global affordability. We believe the robustness of the Pfenex Expression Technology will enable us to solve these technical challenges at a global scale."

"We are delighted to deepen our long-standing relationship with SIIPL, a global leader in vaccine innovation," said Helge Zieler, PhD, CEO of Primrose Bio. "This commitment demonstrates the versatility and transformative potential of the Pfenex Expression Technology to address critical vaccine antigen manufacturing and global health needs."

SII will collaborate for the development of the manufacturing strains and is responsible for future preclinical and clinical development as well as commercialisation.