Amyris and ImmunityBio, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company announced the completion of a previously announced joint venture agreement to accelerate the commercialization of a leading next-generation Covid-19 vaccine.

Amyris and ImmunityBio combine important vaccine technology and manufacturing capabilities in the joint venture. Upon completion of successful human trials and regulatory approval, the joint venture's goal is to start delivering the second-generation vaccine in 2022 as soon as is practically possible with a goal of delivering immunity for Covid-19 and access to underserved parts of the world where current vaccine technology is challenged due to cost and supply chain limitations.

"We are pleased to combine our expertise in human trials, T-Cell technology and our access to RNA manufacturing capacity with the Amyris and Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) RNA technology platform and Amyris' adjuvant technology," said Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., Executive Chairman and Global Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at ImmunityBio. "Combined we have a real opportunity to provide true immunity against Covid-19 variants along with a platform that can quickly adapt to a future potential respiratory virus. We are focused on completing human trials and delivering vaccines in 2022."

"Combining our RNA technology with ImmunityBio's expertise and access has the potential to significantly accelerate and de-risk our time to market for a much-needed second generation Covid-19 vaccine," said John Melo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amyris. "We are very pleased with the progress our teams have made in the short time we've been working together and remain focused on completing successful human trials as quickly as possible."

"Two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become abundantly clear that next-generation vaccines will be required to put the pandemic behind us," said Corey Casper, M.D., MPH and Chief Executive Officer of IDRI. "Vaccines that are accessible to every person across the globe, broad in their protection against current and future variants of concern, and invoke durable protective immunity are now within our reach. The ability to 'mix and match' vaccine platforms through this new joint venture and ImmunityBio's multiple Covid vaccine platforms represents one of the most exciting approaches to ending Covid-19."