An infectious disease known to break out on land and at sea may soon have an approved preventive vaccine. Norovirus has become the most important cause of gastroenteritis worldwide.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most norovirus outbreaks in the United States occur from November to April. In years when new strains of the virus emerge, the incidence of norovirus disease may increase by 50%.
While no vaccine is currently available in the U.S., U.K. or Europe, new financing could speed approval.
HilleVax, Inc. announced today that gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be $100 million, before discounts, commissions and other expenses.
HilleVax said in a press release on September 20, 2023 that it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund the clinical development of HIL-214, including certain manufacturing activities, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
HIL-214 is an investigational virus-like particle bivalent vaccine candidate for the prevention of moderate to severe acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus in infants.
The HIL-214 vaccine contains antigens from genotypes GI.1 and GII.4, representing the genomes responsible for most human diseases.
HIL-214 has been studied in various clinical trials, generating a total of data from more than 4,500 subjects, including children. Ongoing Phase 2/3 study last updated in May 2023.
“HilleVax continues to make excellent progress on our HIL-214 program, including recently completing enrollment of more than 3,000 subjects in our NEST-IN1 clinical trial,” said Rob Hershberg, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HilleVax. ” in a press release dated May 12, 2023.
“We look forward to continuing execution of our HIL-214 program and announcing top-line safety and clinical efficacy data from our NEST-IN1 clinical trial in the first quarter of 2024.”
While other norovirus vaccine candidates are in clinical studies, the HIL-214 vaccine appears to be the most advanced candidate in Precision Vaccinations’ view.