In May 2013, it was announced that Takeda would acquire Inviragen. With Corporate HQ in Fort Collins, CO, primary R&D facility in Madsion WI and also having a facility in Singapore, The firm having previously merged in 2009 with fellow infectious disease vaccine developer SingVax to create a company that would focus on products for the emerging markets, Inviragen was focused on developing vaccines to protect against infectious diseases worldwide. Inviragen's lead product candidate had been a vaccine to protect against dengue fever. Inviragen also developed vaccines to protect against hand, foot and mouth disease and Japanese encephalitis, both of which affect millions of children in Asia. Vaccines in preclinical research stages had included a chikungunya vaccine, a low-cost human papilloma virus vaccine, vaccines to protect against new forms of influenza, a vaccine to protect against West Nile and a combination plague/smallpox vaccine for biodefense. The global marketplace for vaccines is undergoing fundamental change. While vaccines in the US and Europe are garnering higher prices, future vaccine industry growth is predicted to be driven outside these traditional markets. The growing middle classes in developing world countries such as India, China, Mexico and Brazil are creating new market opportunities in the private healthcare sector. Meanwhile, the continued emergence of devastating infectious diseases has accentuated the need for novel vaccines. Inviragen is addressing unmet needs in this growing global vaccine marketplace. Inviragen used the tools of molecular virology to produce safe viruses or viral proteins that induce protective immune responses by using modern cell culture techniques for manufacturing, eliminating the use of eggs or poorly characterized cell production systems. The firmâs vaccine development team tested their vaccines in animal models relevant to the disease to assess safety and efficacy.
