Windover has a report on Vaxart:

Vaxart Inc.

By Jim Kling (Contributor), Start-Up 1/2008

Executive Summary

One reason that oral vaccines are so rare is that, generally speaking, the immune system in the gut does not respond to foreign proteins such as food or normal bacteria. Vaxart Inc. has developed an oral vaccine system based on a key immune receptor that recognizes a signal for viral infection that is not normal in the gut and can therefore elicit a strong immune response. The vaccine platform targets toll-like receptor 3 (TLR-3), which occurs on the surface of cells in the small intestine. TLR-3 binds to double-stranded RNA, which is only found in double-stranded RNA viruses, and then alerts the immune system to the presence of the invader.

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SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Vaxart, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of oral vaccines, announced that Robert Fildes, PhD, has been appointed to the board of directors.

“We’re very pleased that Bob has come on board,” said Mark Backer, PhD, the company’s CEO. “His operational experience and track record in growing biotech companies will be an incredible asset as we prepare to move our first product into the clinic.”

Fildes has had a long and illustrious career in the biotech industry. In the early 1980s, he was a founder and president of Biogen Inc. He then went on to become CEO of Cetus Corp., where he built the company into a leader in PCR and brought IL-2 to market as a treatment for renal cell cancer. Fildes is currently president of SB2, a biotechnology licensing company. He holds a PhD in biochemical genetics from the University of London.

“I’m intrigued by what I see at Vaxart,” Dr. Fildes noted. “I’ve been around the industry a long time and have seen many breakthrough approaches. I believe that Vaxart’s platform could be such an advance, one that can fundamentally change the landscape of vaccine development.”

In addition to Vaxart, Fildes is a director of La Jolla Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LJPC), and is chairman of Inimex and Twinstrand Therapeutics, private Canadian biotech companies.

About Vaxart (www.vaxart.com)

Vaxart is a privately held biotechnology company focused on the development of oral vaccines. Vaxart has developed a unique platform approach that permits modular creation of vaccines, enabling the company to efficiently produce a portfolio of products with low development risk. Vaxart intends to create oral alternatives to current vaccines and can also apply its platform to develop first-in-class vaccines for new indications. Vaxart’s lead programs are a vaccine for avian flu, which the company expects to enter clinical testing in 2009, and a vaccine for annual flu that is in early-stage development.

– BusinessWire

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SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Mar 18, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — CAII | news | PowerRating | PR Charts — The 10th Anniversary C21 BioVentures (C21) conference has announced new details for what will be an exciting and informative program for 2008. C21, produced by Technology Vision Group LLC and co-hosted by BayBio and the National Venture Capital Association, will be held from May 20-22, 2008 at the Meritage Resort in Napa, California. This year C21 returns to the beautiful Napa Valley, home to internationally known wineries, 4-star restaurants, and world class golf. Providing a relaxed environment to do business, C21 seeks to provide as many networking, partnering, and financing opportunities as possible during a packed 3-day program, which this year includes a golf tournament and bioentrepreneur roundtable, in addition to the BioVenture Leadership and Trends and Issues sessions that take place at C21 every year. Topical and Informative Sessions Featuring Industry Leaders

The C21 program annually addresses cutting edge themes of interest to the lifescience and venture capital communities. Among the most popular features of the C21 program are the Trends & Issues Sessions. These sessions will be led by many of the leading thinkers and entrepreneurs in the industry including executives from Comerica, Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, Deloitte, Ferghana Partners Group, Novartis, Procter & Gamble, Oppenheimer, Prism Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners, and TVM Capital. Program details can be found online at http://www.techvision.com/c21/program/.

This year’s program will also feature a BioEntrepreneur Roundtable with Nature Publishing Group on Tuesday, May 20th. Entitled “BioEntrepreneur Beware: CEO War Stories on Investor Nightmares” the discussion will explore what could go wrong during the financing process. More informal networking will also be available during the inaugural BayBio Institute Classic golf tournament, benefiting the non-profit BayBio Institute, which will also be held on Tuesday, May 20th. Details and registration information for the golf tournament can be found at http://www.baybio.org/institute/wt/page/golf_1st_tourney.

Register Now - Early Bird Rate is still available!

Registration for C21 includes pre-arranged one-to-one partnering meetings, access to biopartnering.com, admittance to all presentations and sessions, breakfasts, lunches, refreshment breaks and 3 receptions, as well as the conference handbook & CD.

Register by April 18th and take advantage of the early rate at: www.techvision.com/c21/registration.

Institutional investors may also benefit from a reduced rate, please visit the website for further details.

biopartnering.com

A unique and powerful internet tool, biopartnering.com allows the proactive delegate to prepare for C21 prior to arriving. Presenters are able to access the password protected area of the site to research investment opportunities through keyword searches of detailed profiles on all companies, contact other delegates, and stay informed of additions to the program. biopartnering.com is now open and available for C21 paid attendees, and onsite meeting scheduling will begin April 22nd, so register now and begin planning for C21 BioVentures!

Confirmed Presenting Companies:

4-Antibody AG, Accera, Inc., Adlyfe Inc, AltheaDx, Alvine Pharmaceuticals, AmpliMed Corporation, Anaptys Biosciences, Inc., Antigen Discovery Incorporated, ApopLogic Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Asphelia Pharmaceuticals, Astute Medical, Inc., Attagene, Axela Inc., Azaya Therapeutics, Inc., BaroFold, Inc., BayPoint Biosystems, Bennett Biotech, Biothera, Calibrant Bio, Celator Pharmaceuticals, Cequent Pharmaceuticals, CG Pharmaceuticals, Chimeracore, Inc., Codon Devices, Colby Pharmaceutical Company, CoMentis, Inc., Coronado Biosciences, Evolva SA, Farallone Therapeutics, Genyous Biomed, GlobeImmune, Inc., Immune Control, Intradigm Corporation, KAI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Kereos, Inc., Kiadis pharma B.V., Kinagen Inc., Lentigen Corporation, Light Sciences Oncology, Magen BioSciences, Maven Biotechnologies LLC, Melior Discovery, Inc., Nanospectra Biosciences, Inc., Neosil, Nerites, Network Biosystems, Inc, OsteoCorp Inc., PlexPress, PLx Pharma Inc., Regenesis Biomedical, Ribomed Biotechnologies, Inc, Semafore Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sidec, Silamed, Inc., The Vaccines Company, TheraVida, Trellis Bioscience, Vaxart, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, VM Discovery, Xceed Molecular, Zymeworks Inc.

– via TradingMarkets

Tags: Vaxart

Vaxart Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of oral vaccines, said it received $3.3 million in new funding.

San Francisco-based Vaxart said the round was led by San Jose-based Quantum Technology Partners and Palo Alto-based Life Science Angels.

Other investors include Bay Partners and Sand Hill Angels, which both have offices in Menlo Park.

Vaxart also said it was awarded (under its former name of West Coast Biologicals) a National Institutes of Health SBIR grant of $600,000 for development of the company’s platform technology. Vaxart will use the new capital to support late-stage preclinical testing for its first product, a vaccine for avian flu.

– San Jose Business Journal

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VentureBeat reported:

Vaxart receives $3.3M for oral vaccines — San Francisco’s Vaxart, a biotech developing novel adenovirus-based vaccines, raised $2.7 million in a first funding round. Vaxart also received a $600,000 small-business innovation grant from the NIH to assist in developing the company’s vaccine platform.

Vaxart’s vaccine technology involves a non-replicating adenovirus engineered to produce a particular bacterial or viral protein, or antigen, which stimulates an immune response. The vaccine, which consists of the adenovirus and an “adjuvant” designed to enhance the immune response, is packaged in a capsule that can be taken by mouth.

Vaccines that depend on viral “vectors” like adenovirus are promising because they can produce immunity without the need to rely on attenuated or killed disease virus. When injected, however, such vaccines frequently stimulate an immune reaction to the adenovirus itself, which can negate the effect of the vaccine or subsequent booster shots. Vaxart believes that oral delivery can sidestep that problem.

The company’s early candidates include vaccines against avian flu, seasonal flu, and biowarfare agents. Investors in the round included Quantum Technology Partners, Life Science Angels, Bay Partners and Sand Hill Angels.

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