Pfenex Inc. recently 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.

Pfenex Inc. is a clinical-stage development and licensing biotechnology company focused on leveraging our Pfēnex Expression Technology to improve protein therapies for unmet patient needs. Using the patented Pfēnex Expression Technology platform, the company has created an advanced pipeline of therapeutic equivalents, vaccines, biologics and biosimilars. The company’s lead product candidates are PF708, a therapeutic equivalent candidate to Forteo® (teriparatide) for the treatment of osteoporosis, and our novel anthrax vaccine candidates, Px563L and RPA563, funded through an advanced development contract with the U.S. government. In addition, Pfenex is developing hematology/oncology products, including PF743, a recombinant crisantaspase, and PF745, a recombinant crisantaspase with half-life extension technology, in collaboration with Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, the company’s pipeline includes biosimilar candidates to Lucentis and Neulasta. For more information, visit www.pfenex.com.