Pevion Biotech

About Pevion Biotech

Pevion Biotech AG was a Swiss biopharmaceutical company that focused on developing vaccines for infectious diseases. Established in 2001, and also cited as 2002, as a joint venture and industrial spin-off, its founding entities were Bachem Holding AG and Berna Biotech, which later became a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson known as Crucell. The company was headquartered in Ittigen, near Bern, Switzerland. Pevion's business model revolved around its proprietary virosome technology platform. This technology used reconstituted, empty influenza virus envelopes as a carrier and adjuvant system for vaccine antigens. The virosomes could be loaded with various antigens to create vaccines designed to elicit a robust and lasting immune response with a strong safety profile. The technology was validated by commercially registered vaccines for Hepatitis A (Epaxal®) and Influenza (Inflexal® V), which were marketed in over 45 countries.

The company's development pipeline included vaccine candidates for a range of diseases such as breast cancer, hepatitis C, RSV, malaria, and recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC). One of its lead candidates was PEV7, a therapeutic vaccine for RVVC, which entered Phase I clinical trials. Another notable project was a malaria vaccine candidate that was out-licensed after showing success. Additionally, the company's technology was licensed for use in an HIV vaccine that progressed to human trials. Pevion managed its own in-house development and possessed a GMP-certified manufacturing process. Over its lifetime, the company secured significant funding from investors. In 2007, it closed a Series A financing round of CHF 35 million, bringing its total raised capital to CHF 55 million from investors including BZ Bank, BB Biotech Ventures, and Core Capital Partners. By 2010, the total amount raised reached CHF 45 million. Despite its clinical progress and technology platform, Pevion Biotech was declared deadpooled in October 2013.