Themis Bioscience

About Themis Bioscience

Themis Bioscience GmbH operated as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a strategic focus on developing vaccines and immune-modulation therapies for infectious diseases and oncology. The company was founded in 2009 in Vienna, Austria, by Dr. Erich Tauber, a pediatrician and associate professor of clinical pharmacology with a career centered on vaccine development. Themis was established to advance academic projects to the clinical proof-of-concept stage for subsequent partnership or sale.

The company's core asset was its proprietary measles virus vector platform, a versatile technology based on a vector originally developed by scientists at the Institut Pasteur. This platform, licensed exclusively to Themis in 2010 for specific viral indications, uses a modified measles vaccine virus as a vehicle to deliver a wide range of antigens to the immune system, triggering a protective memory response. The business model centered on leveraging this platform to build a pipeline of vaccine candidates. Revenue was anticipated through the sale of successful candidates after reaching key value-inflection points, with proceeds reinvested into research and development.

Themis developed a diverse pipeline targeting infectious diseases with outbreak potential. Its most advanced program was a vaccine for the Chikungunya virus, which had progressed towards Phase 3 clinical trials. Other vaccine candidates targeted Zika virus, MERS, Lassa fever, and SARS. The company expanded its immunomodulation platform into oncology in 2018 through a licensing agreement with Max Planck Innovation to develop therapies based on an oncolytic measles virus. In March 2020, Themis joined a consortium with the Institut Pasteur and others, backed by funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to develop a vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2. This work culminated in the acquisition of the privately-held company by Merck (MSD) in June 2020 for an undisclosed cash sum, making Themis a wholly-owned subsidiary. The acquisition was intended to accelerate the development of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate by combining Themis' specialized expertise with Merck's extensive capabilities in vaccine development, manufacturing, and global distribution.