Intranasal vaccine developer Leyden Laboratories announced the closing of a $70 million funding round, with proceeds going to support development of prophylactic nasal sprays based on the company’s “Mucosal Protection Platform.” Leyden Labs, which initiated a Phase 1 trial of its lead candidate, PanFlu intranasal CR9114 anti-hemagglutinin stem human antibody, in April 2023, said that some of the new funds will go toward the start of Phase 2 studies of PanFlu.
The company also announced that it had acquired a Singapore-based company called CoV Biotechnology that is focused on “inducing broad, pan-sarbecovirus immune responses to address the evolving and mutating nature of the coronavirus,” according to its LinkedIn profile. According to Leyden Labs, the “acquisition adds to Leyden Labs’ research and development efforts including pandemic preparedness and other partnership initiatives in Asia.”
Leyden Labs CEO Koenraad Wiedhaup commented, “This strong support from investors validates our approach to providing broad, universal protection against current and future viral outbreaks. At Leyden Labs, we’re working to stop infections early by delivering antibody-based formulations directly to the nasal mucosa, eliminating the threat of respiratory viruses directly at the very gate through which they enter. The timing of this fundraising is critical in light of recent avian flu — H5N1 — developments, we feel even more urgency to execute on our mission to protect people against existing and new viruses.”
Read the Leyden Laboratories press release
