Aravax Establishes Pharmaceutical Development Base on the Oxford Science Park With a Focus on Developing Manufacturing Capabilities in the UK

Aravax recently announced it has established a UK subsidiary, based on the Oxford Science Park, as the company continues its development into an international leader in food allergies.

The UK operations will drive the development of commercial manufacturing processes for the peptide drug substances underpinning Aravax’s advanced immunotherapies, as lead candidate PVX108 approaches Phase 3 development. Aravax anticipates investing around $10 million in manufacturing development over the next 2 years. The UK base also provides Aravax with a truly international footprint for business development. Aravax’s headquarters in Australia will retain its current responsibilities for clinical development and other activities.

Dr. Paul Laidler, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development, Aravax (UK), said “Having operations in Oxford provides the opportunity to benefit from the best in UK and European manufacturing expertise for sterile, peptide-based products, and also from the wider worldwide life sciences ecosystem.”

Dr. Pascal Hickey, CEO of Aravax, added “Our ambition is to become a global leader in food allergy therapeutics through the development of safe and convenient immunotherapies which meet the critical need for better treatments. We believe this requires an international mindset and capabilities and the setting up of our Oxford operations is a significant step in our development. The company has made great advances with its groundbreaking technology which has the potential to dramatically improve therapeutic options for patients living with food allergies.”

Aravax raised $42 million in a series B financing earlier this year to accelerate the development of PVX108, its lead candidate for the treatment of peanut allergy. Its Phase 2 clinical study in Australia and the USA is now fully recruited, with results expected in H1 2026.

PVX108 is an innovative precision immunotherapy containing a mixture of synthetic peptides which are designed to precisely target the T cells which drive peanut allergy. Each peptide represents dominant T cell epitopes from major peanut allergens. PVX108 does not contain natural extracts or whole allergens and has been engineered to be incapable of triggering acute allergic reactions. It has been designed to provide a safe, convenient and long-lasting treatment with monthly dosing through essentially needle-free intradermal administration.

Aravax is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on revolutionizing the treatment of food allergies with next-generation specific immunotherapies which are safe and convenient. Aravax applies proprietary technology and know-how to design highly targeted immunotherapies, which reset the immune system to tolerate a specific allergen without evoking allergic reactions during treatment. The lead product, PVX108, is in an international Phase 2 trial for the treatment of peanut allergy.

Founded in 2015 based on technology from Alfred Health and Monash University, Aravax is a private company headquartered in Melbourne. Its investors include leading venture and pension fund investors including Brandon Capital, Tenmile, Novartis Venture Fund, Breakthrough Victoria, Uniseed, and UniSuper. For more information, visit www.aravax.com.au.