Previously an independent, publicly held biopharmaceutical company, in May 1999 Acambis Inc, (formerly dba as Oravax) was acquired British firm Peptide Therapeutics Group PLC. Subsequent investment in its vaccine production was French firm Pasteur Merieux. Another firm, Baxter, also invested and acquired parts of the Acambis vaccine group. The firm was acquired outright in July 2008 by the vaccines division of France's Sanofi-Aventis . The firm is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of Sanofi-Aventis.The firm is focused on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases of humans by applying recent advances in the fundamental understanding of mucosal immunity, the first line of defense against the majority of bacterial and viral agents. After the acquistion by Peptide, Acambis received a substantial NIH awards to work on West Niles Virus. Originally made as an SBIR award, the project was reclassified an RO1 after it was ascertained that the firm was no longer SBIR-eligible. Acambis has since been recruited to produce 209 million doses of smallpox vaccine for the US Government for the purposes of countering the threat of smallpox as a bioterrorist weapon. This is part of the US Governmentâs plan to provide a dose of smallpox vaccine for every man, woman and child in the US.The company is developing oral vaccines and monoclonal IgA antibodies. Acambis Inc's focus on the mucosal immune system is novel because augmenting immunity at the mucosal surface exploits defense mechanisms that have been largely ignored by traditional vaccine strategies. Product development is being pursued through a combination of internal research and development, external research agreements with leading academic institutions, and contract manufacture. OraVax develops oral vaccines and noninjected antibody products. It targets treatments for diseases caused by bacteria and viruses that infect the body through mucous membranes such as the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and genitourinary tracts. Its products, which are in various stages of development, include the HNK20 antibody for the prevention of viral pneumonia in children and a vaccine against Japanese Encephalitis. OraVax (Acambis Inc) has an agreement with Pasteur Merieux Serums & Vaccines to develop and market its H. pylori vaccines, which prevent and treat peptic ulcers, stomach cancer, and gastritis.
