UK-listed pharmaceutical conglomerate GlaxoSmithKline has acquired Switzerland-based Okairos, a developer of the first ever respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, for about €250m ($325m).
Okairòs is a spin-off company from US-listed Merck’s IRBM science park in Italy to use T-cell vaccines for diseases, including malaria, HIV, hepatitis C and universal influenza.
Okairos has previously raised $30m in funding from corporate venturing unit Novartis Venture Funds and venture capital firms BioMedPartners, Life Sciences Partners and Versant Ventures. The company raised $20.5m in a series B round in 2010.