Pfenex Receives Merck Milestone Payment

Pfenex Inc. announced the receipt of a milestone payment from Merck associated with the initiation of the first Phase 3 clinical study of (V114), an investigational polyvalent conjugate vaccine for the prevention of pneumococcal disease.

Under the agreement, signed in 2007, Pfenex is eligible to receive annual fees, milestone payments, and a tiered royalty based on net sales for all products developed by Merck that use the Pfenex Expression Technology platform.

“This license agreement further illustrates the versatility of the Pfenex platform and its use in products that range from peptides to therapeutic proteins and vaccines,” said Eef Schimmelpennink, Chief Executive Officer of Pfenex.