$100 Million to Fund Norovirus Vaccine Development

A contagious disease known for causing outbreaks on land and at sea may soon have an approved preventive vaccine. Noroviruses have emerged as the single most significant cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most norovirus outbreaks in the United States happen from November to April. In years when there is a new strain of the virus, there can be 50% more norovirus illness.

While no vaccines are available today in the U.S., U.K., or Europe, a new funding event may accelerate an approval.

HilleVax, Inc. today announced the gross proceeds from an offering, before deducting discounts, commissions, and other expenses, are expected to be $100.0 million.

HilleVax stated in a press release on September 20, 2023, that it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund the clinical development of HIL-214, including certain manufacturing activities, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

HIL-214 is an investigational virus-like particle bivalent vaccine candidate for preventing moderate-to-severe acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus in infants. 

The HIL-214 vaccine includes antigens from genotypes GI.1 and GII.4 to represent genogroups that cause most human illnesses.

HIL-214 has been studied in various clinical trials, collectively generating data from more than 4,500 subjects, including children. The ongoing phase 2/3 study was last updated in May 2023.

“HilleVax has continued to make excellent progress on our HIL-214 program, including the recent completion of enrollment of over 3,000 subjects in our NEST-IN1 clinical trial,” said Rob Hershberg, MD, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HilleVax, in a press release on May 12, 2023.

“We look forward to continuing to execute on our HIL-214 program and announcing top-line safety and clinical efficacy data in the first quarter of 2024 for our NEST-IN1 clinical trial.”

While other norovirus vaccine candidates are conducting clinical research, the HIL-214 vaccine appears to Precision Vaccinations to be the most advanced candidate.