Elaris FlexCo, an Austrian biotechnology company developing vaccines against serious bacterial infections, announced on Wednesday that it has signed a licensing agreement with French vaccine company Valneva SE (Nasdaq:VALN) (Euronext Paris:VLA) for technology related to Valneva's Clostridioides difficile vaccine candidate, VLA84.

Under the agreement, Elaris obtains an exclusive global licence to Valneva's antigen technology targeting Clostridioides difficile. Building on this technology, Elaris plans to advance a next-generation vaccine program incorporating additional proprietary components designed to broaden protective immune responses.

This agreement strengthens Elaris' intellectual property position and supports advancement of its lead vaccine programme. Elaris plans to advance the programme through IND-enabling development with the goal of initiating clinical studies around 2027.