Janssen Pharmaceuticals Terminates Collaboration in Hepatitis B, HPV

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson recently terminated its collaboration with Bavarian Nordic, which developed potential vaccines against the hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus (HPV).  

The companies leveraged Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN technology to develop the vaccines. But notably, Janssen initiated no clinical studies in hepatitis B using the technology.  

The company stated that it remains committed to collaborating with Bavarian Nordic to prevent and cure infectious diseases — with collaborations in HIV and Ebola still ongoing. 

Additionally, the company will continue to prioritize the investigation of its hepatitis B combination therapies using alternative investigational vaccine platforms and therapeutics within its broad portfolio and has multiple ongoing studies.  

Janssen is committed to the research and development of transformational vaccines and therapeutics to prevent and cure infectious diseases with high unmet needs but will not be focusing on a therapeutic vaccine against HPV due to the recent widespread uptake of preventive vaccines.  

In October 2018, Janssen entered into a $3,7 billion agreement with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize (RNAi) therapy candidate, ARO-HBV, to treat chronic hepatitis B.  

Janssen can select up to three new targets, against which Arrowhead will develop clinical candidates. These potential new candidates will leverage Arrowhead’s proprietary TRiM platform.  

Hepatitis B is a global health issue, affecting an estimated 296 million people globally and claiming nearly 900,000 lives annually.  

Several antiviral medications, including entecavir (Baraclude), tenofovir (Viread), lamivudine (Epivir), adefovir (Hepsera), and telbivudine (Tyzeka), can help fight hepatitis B and slow its ability to damage the liver. 

In June 2021, Merck and Sanofi announced that their six-in-one combination pediatric vaccine is available throughout the United States.  

Vaxelis is the first and only hexavalent combination vaccine available in the US and is indicated for active immunization to help prevent diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, and invasive disease caused by Hemophilus influenzae type b.  

The vaccine is currently FDA-approved for children aged six weeks through four years.