AdaptVac
AdaptVac is a clinical-stage Danish biotechnology company developing vaccines via its proprietary capsid Virus-Like Particle (cVLP) display platform, licensed to pharmaceutical partners for COVID-19, HER2+ breast cancer, Nipah virus, filoviruses, and malaria indications.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersHørsholm, Denmark
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What AdaptVac does
AdaptVac is a clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2017 as a joint venture between NextGen Vaccines ApS (a University of Copenhagen spin-out) and ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies ApS, headquartered in Frederiksberg, Denmark. The company employs 1-10 people and is privately held, with ownership currently split 66% to NextGen Vaccines and 34% to ExpreS2ion following a December 2021 restructuring tied to the AV001 license. The leadership team combines platform co-inventors with biotech operating experience: CEO Dr. Wian de Jongh (15 years biotech, former CSO and co-founder of NASDAQ First North-listed ExpreS2ion), CSO Prof. Adam Sander (main inventor of the cVLP platform), and Chairman Prof. Morten Nielsen (CMC and process design expertise). The company won the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 award in Life Sciences for Denmark.
The core asset is a proprietary capsid Virus-Like Particle (cVLP) display platform built on the Bacteriophage AP205 capsid protein combined with a proprietary MoonCatcher/Tag iso-peptide pair that enables spontaneous, precise antigen display during E. coli expression. The platform has been validated through Phase 3 clinical testing of the ABNCoV2 COVID-19 vaccine (licensed to Bavarian Nordic), which demonstrated non-inferiority to Comirnaty mRNA vaccine in 622 participants and a well-tolerated safety profile across 4,205 subjects followed for 6 months with no serious adverse events. The pipeline extends to ES2B-C001/AV001 HER2+ breast cancer vaccine (Phase I, licensed to ExpreS2ion, Proof-of-Mechanism reported September 2025), a cVLP Nipah virus vaccine (VICI-Disease consortium, GMP transfer initiated January 2026, Phase 1/2a planned 2027), the panFiloVaxRR broad-spectrum filovirus vaccine for Ebola/Marburg/Sudan (CEPI/EU funded at USD 12.4M over five years), and a placental malaria vaccine (ADVANCE-VAC4PM, €10M EU grant).
AdaptVac's revenue model is licensing-based, monetizing the platform and pipeline candidates through upfront fees, development and sales milestones, and royalties on net sales, supplemented by non-dilutive grant funding from EU Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe, CEPI, the Danish Innovation Foundation, and the Danish Ministry of Health. Notable license economics include the Bavarian Nordic ABNCoV2 deal (€4M upfront, up to €136M in milestones, plus single to double-digit tiered royalties) and the ExpreS2ion AV001 deal (DKK 2.5M upfront, up to DKK 215M in milestones, plus a lower single-digit royalty). Customers are exclusively enterprise pharmaceutical/biotech licensees and institutional funders; the company has no commercial product sales and is pre-revenue on a product basis.
AdaptVac firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AdaptVac
- Legal name
- AdaptVac ApS
- Website
- https://adaptvac.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- AdaptVac is a clinical-stage Danish biotechnology company developing vaccines via its proprietary capsid Virus-Like Particle (cVLP) display platform, licensed to pharmaceutical partners for COVID-19, HER2+ breast cancer, Nipah virus, filoviruses, and malaria indications.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AdaptVac industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Vaccines
- NAICS
- Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Vaccine Technology Platforms (mRNA, viral vector, protein subunit, inactivated/live-attenuated, VLP, DNA) (HLAAAEAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Infectious Disease & Pandemic Preparedness Vaccines (emerging pathogens) (HLAAAEAC), Pandemic Preparedness & Rapid-Response Vaccines (HLAIAEAF), Clinical Development & Regulatory for Vaccines (trials, pharmacovigilance, lot release) (HLAAAEAK), Vaccine Technology Platforms (Live, Inactivated, Subunit, Vector, mRNA/DNA) (HLAMAKAH), Travel & Tropical Disease Vaccines (HLAIAEAE)
Keywords
Where AdaptVac is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hørsholm
- HQ country
- Denmark
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
AdaptVac business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Licensing Royalties: AdaptVac licenses its proprietary cVLP platform technology and pipeline candidates to pharmaceutical partners. Revenue comes from upfront fees, milestone-based payments during development, and royalty payments based on net sales. Examples include: ExpreS2ion license for AV001 (upfront fee DKK 2.5M, aggregated milestone payments up to DKK 215M, plus single-digit percentage royalty); Bavarian Nordic license for ABNCoV2 (upfront payment of 4 MEUR, potential development/sales milestones up to 136 MEUR, plus single to double-digit tiered royalties).
- Non-Dilutive Funding: Company receives grants and consortium funding from government and institutional sources (EU Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, CEPI, Danish Ministry of Health, Danish Innovation Foundation) for vaccine development programs. Examples include: EUR 2.7M EU grant for PREVENT-nCoV COVID-19 vaccine; EUR 8M EU Horizon Europe grant for Nipah virus vaccine (VICI-Disease); USD 12.4M CEPI/EU funding for filovirus vaccine (panFiloVaxRR); EUR 10M EU grant for placental malaria vaccine (ADVANCE-VAC4PM); DKK 800M from Danish Ministry of Health for Phase III trial.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
AdaptVac product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AdaptVac develops a proprietary Phase 3 validated capsid Virus-Like Particle (cVLP) display platform using a MoonCatcher/Tag iso-peptide pair on a Bacteriophage AP205 capsid protein, which forms cVLPs during E. coli production. The company applies this platform to develop vaccine candidates against infectious diseases (COVID-19, Nipah, filoviruses, malaria) and therapeutic cancer targets (HER2+ breast cancer), which it licenses to pharmaceutical partners such as Bavarian Nordic and ExpreS2ion for clinical development and commercialization.
Product overview
AdaptVac is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a new class of vaccines using its Phase 3 validated Tag/Catcher cVLP (capsid virus-like particle) display platform. The platform technology utilizes proprietary MoonCatcher/Tag pair with Bacteriophage AP205 capsid protein. The company portfolio includes multiple vaccine candidates: ABNCoV2 (COVID-19 vaccine, Phase 3 completed, licensed to Bavarian Nordic), ES2B-C001 (HER2-targeted breast cancer vaccine, Phase I ongoing, licensed to ExpreS2ion), cVLP Nipah Virus Vaccine (VICI-Disease consortium, entering GMP), panFiloVaxRR (broad-spectrum filovirus vaccine for Ebola/Marburg, CEPI/EU funded), and placental malaria vaccine (ADVANCE-VAC4PM consortium). The platform enables rapid development of vaccines against self-antigens for cancer immunotherapy and infectious diseases.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ABNCoV2: COVID-19 vaccine candidate licensed to Bavarian Nordic. Met primary endpoint in Phase 3, demonstrating non-inferiority to Comirnaty mRNA vaccine.
- ES2B-C001
- cVLP Platform
Products and services
- Tag/Catcher cVLP Display Platform Phase 3 validated capsid virus-like particle platform using a proprietary MoonCatcher/Tag iso-peptide pair on a Tag- or Catcher-fused Bacteriophage AP205 capsid protein that spontaneously forms cVLPs during production in E. coli. Validated for safety, scalability, and EU/US regulatory acceptance through Phase 3 clinical testing in ABNCoV2; licensed to pharmaceutical partners and used as the basis for AdaptVac's vaccine pipeline.
- ABNCoV2 (COVID-19 Vaccine) COVID-19 vaccine candidate based on AdaptVac's cVLP platform that met its Phase 3 primary endpoint demonstrating non-inferiority to Comirnaty mRNA vaccine, with safety data in 4,205 individuals showing no serious adverse events at 6-month follow-up. Licensed to Bavarian Nordic for clinical development and commercialization.
- ES2B-C001 / AV001 (HER2-targeted Breast Cancer Vaccine) HER2-targeted therapeutic breast cancer vaccine candidate using the cVLP platform, designed to break self-tolerance against the HER2 self-antigen. Phase I clinical trial ongoing in patients with metastatic HER2-expressing breast cancer at the Medical University of Vienna; licensed to ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies.
- cVLP Nipah Virus Vaccine Vaccine candidate against Nipah virus developed through the VICI-Disease consortium with EU Horizon Europe grant funding of €8M. Process transferred to Northway Biotech for GMP manufacture in preparation for a Phase 1/2a clinical study planned to initiate in 2027.
- panFiloVaxRR Filovirus Vaccine Broad-spectrum vaccine candidate targeting orthoebola and orthomarburg viruses including Ebolavirus Zaire, Sudan Ebolavirus, and Marburg virus, with up to 90% case fatality rates. Developed by AdaptVac as consortium lead with CEPI and EU funding of USD 12.4 million over five years to bring a broad-spectrum vaccine into clinical trials and improve outbreak response.
- Placental Malaria Vaccine Vaccine candidate aimed at pregnant women to protect against placental malaria, developed by AdaptVac as part of the ADVANCE-VAC4PM consortium with €10 million in EU grant funding for development.
Quantifiable outcome
- Phase 3 non-inferiority to Comirnaty mRNA vaccine demonstrated with ABNCoV2 COVID-19 booster vaccine in 622 participants
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use AdaptVac
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
AdaptVac technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
AdaptVac partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- CEPI and EU ConsortiumflagshipAdaptVac leads a consortium funded by CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) and the EU with budget of USD 12.4 million over five years to develop a broadly protective vaccine against filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg). The panFiloVaxRR consortium aims to bring a broad-spectrum vaccine into clinical trials and ultimately improve outbreak response.
- Northway BiotechcoreProcess transfer from ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies to Northway Biotech for GMP manufacture of cVLP Nipah virus vaccine in preparation for Phase 1/2a clinical study planned to initiate in 2027.
- VICI-Disease ConsortiumcoreVICI-Disease consortium awarded EU Horizon Europe grant of €8M to develop a Nipah virus vaccine. Consortium consists of AdaptVac, ExpreS2ion, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Radboud university medical center, Leipzig University, University of Copenhagen, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, and Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné.
- ADVANCE-VAC4PM ConsortiumcoreEU awarded €10 million to ADVANCE-VAC4PM consortium to advance development of a safe, effective, and affordable placental malaria vaccine to protect pregnant women and their babies. AdaptVac is a consortium member.
- ExpreS2ion BiotechnologiesflagshipFinal License Agreement signed with ExpreS2ion whereby ExpreS2ion exclusively licenses in AV001 (HER2-cVLP), a novel breast cancer vaccine candidate. ExpreS2ion pays upfront fee of DKK 2.5 million, aggregated milestone payments of DKK 215 million during development until market approval, and lower single-digit percentage royalty based on net sales. ExpreS2ion owns 34% of AdaptVac.
- Bavarian NordicflagshipFinal license agreement signed with Bavarian Nordic to license the proprietary capsid virus-like particle (cVLP) based SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine (ABNCoV2). Bavarian Nordic made an upfront payment of 4 MEUR, with potential future development and sales milestones and single to double-digit percentage-tiered royalties. Total deal value excluding royalties is up to 136 MEUR. ABNCoV2 completed Phase 3 demonstrating non-inferiority to Comirnaty.
- AGC BiologicscoreManufacturing agreement signed with AGC Biologics for manufacture and scale-up of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Coronavirus vaccine. This partnership leverages AGC Biologics global manufacturing expertise to accelerate GMP manufacture.
- PREVENT-nCoV ConsortiumcoreEU Horizon 2020 grant of €2.7M awarded to PREVENT-nCoV consortium for COVID-19 vaccine development. Consortium members include AdaptVac, Institute for Tropical Medicine at University of Tübingen, Leiden University Medical Center, University of Copenhagen, ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies, and Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
AdaptVac competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Medicago (Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma): Canadian VLP vaccine company acquired by Mitsubishi, using plant-based expression to produce VLP vaccines including a COVID vaccine (Covifenz). Operates a different production modality but competes in the same VLP vaccine category for infectious disease.
- Bavarian Nordic: AdaptVac's ABNCoV2 licensee and a leading specialty vaccine company with approved products (JYNNEOS, Rabipur, Encepur). Comparable in infectious disease vaccine development but substantially larger, publicly listed, and with full commercial infrastructure AdaptVac does not possess.
- Valneva: European specialty vaccine company (NASDAQ/Euronext listed) developing and commercializing vaccines against infectious diseases with high unmet need (chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, Lyme). Comparable in infectious disease focus but operates at commercial scale AdaptVac has not yet reached.
- Novavax: NASDAQ-listed vaccine company with a recombinant nanoparticle VLP platform (Matrix-M adjuvant, RSV/COVID/flu products). Direct technology comparable (VLP-based subunit vaccines) but at vastly greater scale, with commercial product approvals and global manufacturing footprint.
Emerging players
- iBio: Plant-based biologics company with VLP vaccine capabilities (FastPharming system). Smaller, early-stage platform with overlapping interest in infectious disease and oncology vaccines using VLP and recombinant protein approaches.
- Emergex Vaccines: UK-based clinical-stage biotech developing T-cell adaptive vaccines using synthetic peptide-coated gold nanoparticles for infectious diseases (dengue, COVID, Zika). Smaller emerging player in the infectious disease vaccine space with overlapping indication set.
Direct peers
- SpyBiotech: Oxford spin-out developing VLP-based vaccines using a proprietary SpyTag/SpyCatcher technology — a closely analogous 'Tag/Catcher' display approach to AdaptVac's MoonCatcher/Tag. Focused on infectious disease vaccines including hepatitis B and malaria.
- GeoVax Labs: Clinical-stage biotech developing VLP-based vaccines using MVA-VLP platform technology for infectious disease (COVID, Zika, Ebola, malaria) and immuno-oncology. Comparable platform approach and indication overlap, particularly with AdaptVac's filovirus and malaria programs.
- VBI Vaccines: Clinical-stage biotech developing enveloped VLP (eVLP) vaccines for infectious disease and oncology, including a hepatitis B vaccine. Most directly comparable US-listed peer by platform technology and stage.
- ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies: AdaptVac's joint-venture partner (34% owner) and licensee of the HER2 cancer vaccine. Operates as a clinical-stage biotech developing vaccines using the same S2 Drosophila cell-line expression platform that complements AdaptVac's cVLP technology — effectively sister companies under shared founder Prof. Wian de Jongh.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
AdaptVac social profiles
Digital presenceAdaptVac financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AdaptVac leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
AdaptVac funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AdaptVac M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AdaptVac
What does AdaptVac do?
AdaptVac develops a proprietary Phase 3 validated capsid Virus-Like Particle (cVLP) display platform using a MoonCatcher/Tag iso-peptide pair on a Bacteriophage AP205 capsid protein, which forms cVLPs during E. coli production. The company applies this platform to develop vaccine candidates against infectious diseases (COVID-19, Nipah, filoviruses, malaria) and therapeutic cancer targets (HER2+ breast cancer), which it licenses to pharmaceutical partners such as Bavarian Nordic and ExpreS2ion for clinical development and commercialization.
Is AdaptVac a public or private company?
AdaptVac is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was AdaptVac founded?
AdaptVac was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is AdaptVac based?
AdaptVac is headquartered in Hørsholm, Denmark, in the Europe region.
How does AdaptVac make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Licensing Royalties are the primary driver. The others are non-Dilutive Funding.
Who are AdaptVac's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Medicago (Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma), Bavarian Nordic, Valneva and Novavax. Emerging players are iBio and Emergex Vaccines. Direct peers are SpyBiotech, GeoVax Labs, VBI Vaccines and ExpreS2ion Biotechnologies.
Does AdaptVac have an API?
No public API is recorded for AdaptVac.
What industry is AdaptVac in?
AdaptVac's product category is Vaccines. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAEAD, Vaccine Technology Platforms (mRNA, viral vector, protein subunit, inactivated/live-attenuated, VLP, DNA), with a secondary code of HLAAAEAC, Infectious Disease & Pandemic Preparedness Vaccines (emerging pathogens). Its NAICS code is 325412 and its SIC code is 2836.