AstraZeneca has acquired US biotech Omniose to strengthen its bacterial vaccine pipeline, taking ownership of technology it has been exploring through a three-year research collaboration.
The St Louis-based company announced on Tuesday that it has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anglo-Swedish drug giant and joined its Infectious Disease Unit. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed publicly.
The deal brings Omniose’s technology and expertise into AstraZeneca’s existing research operations, supporting its work on vaccines against serious bacterial infections.
Omniose develops technology for conjugate vaccines, which combine sugars found on bacteria with carrier proteins to help the immune system recognise and respond to infection.
Producing these vaccines typically involves a complex chemical process to attach the two components. Omniose’s approach, known as bioconjugation, uses enzymes to bring them together within a single bacterial cell.
According to the biotech, this could simplify manufacturing while retaining the natural structure of the bacterial sugars, potentially improving the quality of the resulting vaccines.
The company also says its platform can work with a wider range of bacterial sugars than earlier enzyme-based methods. This could allow researchers to explore vaccines against pathogens that have previously been difficult to target using the technology.
For AstraZeneca, the acquisition adds another tool to its early-stage vaccine research, alongside the expertise of a team it has already worked with through the collaboration.
The companies first announced their partnership in January 2024, giving AstraZeneca exclusive rights to use Omniose’s platform for up to three years to research potential bacterial vaccines.
The agreement covered a range of bacterial pathogens, including multidrug-resistant ‘superbugs’. At the time, AstraZeneca highlighted growing resistance to commonly used antibiotics as a reason to develop additional ways of preventing serious infections.
The new acquisition takes that relationship a step further, bringing the platform directly into AstraZeneca’s business rather than continuing to access it through a research agreement.
AstraZeneca said the technology would complement its existing capabilities and strengthen its ability to develop new vaccines against serious bacterial infections.
Omniose remains a preclinical business and its immediate contribution will therefore be to AstraZeneca’s early-stage vaccine programmes, with further development needed before potential candidates could reach patients.
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