Merck Expands AI-Driven Vaccine Portfolio with $592M Evaxion Deal

Merck & Co. has exercised its option to license a novel vaccine candidate from Danish biotech Evaxion, marking a significant expansion of its AI-driven vaccine development efforts. The deal, worth up to $592 million in potential milestone payments, centers on EVX-B3, a preclinical asset designed to address an undisclosed but serious global medical issue.

Merck's Strategic Investment in AI-Based Vaccines

The licensing agreement is part of a broader collaboration between Merck and Evaxion that began in 2024. Under the terms of the deal, Merck is paying $7.5 million upfront to secure rights to EVX-B3, a vaccine candidate identified using Evaxion's AI-Immunology platform. This technology is specifically designed to detect new vaccine targets for both cancer and infectious diseases.

Tarit Mukhopadhyay, Vice President and Head of Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Discovery at Merck Research Laboratories, highlighted the potential of Evaxion's AI approach: "With its AI-Immunology platform, Evaxion has identified novel protective vaccine targets for a pathogen long considered difficult to address. We look forward to further evaluating EVX-B3 as part of our early vaccine pipeline."

Addressing Unmet Medical Needs

EVX-B3 targets a pathogen associated with repeated infections, rising incidence, and potentially serious complications. According to the companies, no vaccines are currently available to treat the undisclosed condition, underscoring the potential impact of this development.

The partnership between Merck and Evaxion on EVX-B3 predates the 2024 agreement, with joint discovery and development efforts beginning in September 2023. This early collaboration was further solidified when Merck's venture capital arm led a private placement financing for Evaxion later that year.

Future Prospects and Ongoing Evaluation

While the EVX-B3 deal represents a significant milestone, the collaboration between Merck and Evaxion extends beyond this single candidate. Merck retains the option to license another preclinical vaccine, EVX-B2, which targets gonorrhea. The evaluation period for this second candidate has been extended, with a decision on potential licensing now expected in the first half of next year.

If Merck opts to license EVX-B2, Evaxion will receive an additional $2.5 million upfront payment and could earn up to $592 million in milestone payments. This extension follows an expansion of the initial evaluation plan to include additional experiments, highlighting the thorough approach both companies are taking in their vaccine development efforts.