Agenus (AGEN) announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded it a grant of ~$1M to develop an alternative, plant cell culture-based manufacturing process to ensure the continuous future supply of Agenus’ proprietary QS-21 Stimulonadjuvant, a key component of multiple vaccines targeting infectious and endemic diseases. Agenus’ QS-21 Stimulon is a proprietary adjuvant, currently incorporated as part of Glaxo Smith Kline’s (GSK) highly efficacious Shingrix vaccine. Additionally, Agenus’ QS-21 Stimulonis used in GSK’s Mosquirix vaccine and numerous other clinical-stage vaccines, including Agenus’ own cancer vaccines. Given the criticality of QS-21 in making vaccines efficacious, Agenus plans to develop a cell-culture based, environment friendly manufacturing technique as an alternative future supply. QS-21 is currently extracted from Chilean soap bark trees, exclusively sourced from a localized area in Chile. “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in our efforts to revolutionize the way we produce QS-21,” said Dr. Garo Armen, Chairman and CEO of Agenus. “The Gates Foundation has recognized the value of consistent supply of high-quality QS-21 to power vaccines. We appreciate their commitment to bringing innovation to drive access to important therapies.”
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