mRNA JV Arcalis awarded $115m from Japanese Gov

Arcalis, the joint venture between Arcturus and Axcelead, will use the $115 million grant to build a mRNA facility.

Arcalis is a messenger RNA (mRNA)-focused contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) joint venture between Arcturus Therapeutics, a firm focused on developing mRNA vaccines, and Axcelead, a Japan-based drug discovery company. Under the terms of the deal, Arcturus holds a 49% equity position that is subject to dilution.

The Japanese government will pay the $115 million in two separate grants. The funding will be used to finance the construction of a facility in Minamisoma City, Japan, as well as buying the relevant equipment needed for mRNA drug substance manufacturing and operations.

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“Arcalis completed construction of the drug substance part of the plant at the end of July 2023. The company plans to finish building the drug product plant by 2026,” a spokesperson for Arcturus told BioProcess Insider.

According to the joint venture participants, the five-storey factory covers more than 78,000 square feet and it has been designed to provide cGMP vaccine production, which ranges from mRNA drug substance through to bulk nanoparticle-formulated drug product.

The factory has 61 employees and aims to double its workforce over the next few years.

“It was an honor to welcome senior Japanese government officials and dignitaries to the opening ceremonies for ARCALIS’ state-of-the-art factory which will support the cGMP manufacturing of Arcturus’ next-generation STARR mRNA vaccines,” said Pad Chivukula, chief scientific officer of Arcturus.

In May 2020, Arcturus selected contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Catalent to make scaled-up batches of its mRNA vaccine candidate LUNAR-COV19, which uses the firm’s STARR Technology platform.

In other news…

In addition to news of the $115 million funding, the firm has also announced LUNAR-FLU program with CSL-Seqirus has received $17.5 million milestone, which will be used to advance flu operations.

Last November, Arcturus granted CSL Seqirus access to its late-stage self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) vaccine platform technology to support the research, development, production, and commercialization of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, as well as influenza, pandemic preparedness, and a further three global respiratory infectious diseases.

“We are pleased with the progress of the LUNAR-FLU program with CSL Seqirus, our exclusive global licensee for the development of novel mRNA vaccines, and the significant role that Arcturus is playing in the development activities,” said Joseph Payne, CEO of Arcturus.