Aelix Therapeutics

What Aelix Therapeutics does

AELIX Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, founded in November 2015 as a spin-off of the HIVACAT Catalan public-private consortium. The company develops therapeutic HIV vaccines and immunotherapies designed to achieve functional cure—long-term viral suppression without continuous antiretroviral therapy (ART). AELIX's lead asset is the HTI (HIV T-Cell Immunogen), a T-cell vaccine immunogen designed by co-founder and CSO Dr. Christian Brander based on functional immune response data from nearly 1,000 individuals across four cohorts on three continents, targeting HIV regions enriched in individuals with natural viral control.

AELIX's product pipeline centers on the HTI immunogen delivered via a heterologous prime-boost regimen using three vector platforms: DNA.HTI, MVA.HTI, and ChAdOx1.HTI. The company has completed two clinical trials: AELIX-002 (Phase I/IIa, positive results published in Nature Medicine in 2022) and AELIX-003 (Phase IIa combining HTI with Gilead Sciences' TLR7 agonist vesatolimod, positive top-line results presented at CROI 2023). AELIX-002 demonstrated a 97% immunogenicity rate and showed that 40% of vaccinated participants without beneficial HLA alleles remained off ART for 22+ weeks versus 8% in the placebo group.

AELIX has no commercial product or revenue. Funding to date totals approximately €13.36M in equity (€11.5M Series A in 2016 led by Ysios Capital; ~€1.86M in 2021 from CDTI/Caixa Innvierte/Ysios BioFund II Innvierte), plus non-dilutive grants from Spanish and European public programs (NEOTEC, RETOS-COLABORACIÓN, ACCIÓ, EIT Health, EU Horizon 2020 via HIVACAR and MISTRAL consortia). AELIX holds a worldwide exclusive license for HTI immunogen development and commercialization, and the eventual commercial model contemplates traditional pharmaceutical distribution post-regulatory approval.

Name

Aelix Therapeutics

Legal name

AELIX Therapeutics SL

Website

https://aelixtherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aelix Therapeutics is a clinical-stage Barcelona-based biotechnology company developing the HTI T-cell therapeutic HIV vaccine, designed to enable functional cure and long-term viral suppression without continuous antiretroviral therapy. It serves HIV-infected individuals through its investigational vaccine pipeline.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Therapeutic HIV Vaccines

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Therapeutic Vaccines (e.g., Cancer/Chronic Infection) (HLAIAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Therapeutic Vaccines (cancer, chronic infection immunotherapy) (HLAAAEAB), Vaccine Technology Platforms (mRNA, viral vector, protein subunit, inactivated/live-attenuated, VLP, DNA) (HLAAAEAD)

Keywords

• Therapeutic HIV vaccines
• T-cell immunogen design
• Clinical stage biotechnology
• HIV functional cure
• Prime-boost vaccination

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Therapeutic Vaccine Commercialization: AELIX plans to commercialize its HTI immunogen as a therapeutic vaccine for HIV-infected individuals. The company holds worldwide exclusive license for development and commercialization of HTI immunogen. Revenue would be generated through product sales upon regulatory approval.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Aelix Therapeutics develops a therapeutic T-cell HIV vaccine based on its proprietary HTI (HIV T-Cell Immunogen) designed to direct the immune response to vulnerable regions of HIV that cannot readily escape immune pressure. The vaccine is delivered via a heterologous prime-boost regimen using DNA, MVA, and ChAdOx1 viral vectors, and is being evaluated in Phase I/IIa clinical trials (AELIX-002 and AELIX-003) for its ability to enable prolonged periods off antiretroviral therapy in early-treated HIV-infected individuals.

Product overview

Aelix Therapeutics is developing a single therapeutic vaccine product—the HTI immunogen—delivered through multiple vaccine vector platforms including DNA.HTI, MVA.HTI, and ChAdOx1.HTI. The company operates two clinical programs: AELIX-002, which tests the HTI vaccine as a standalone heterologous prime-boost regimen, and AELIX-003, which evaluates the HTI vaccine in combination with Gilead Sciences' TLR-7 agonist vesatolimod. The technology is based on a T-cell immunogen design that targets vulnerable regions of HIV where immune responses are naturally most effective.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HTI Immunogen (HIV T-Cell Immunogen) A proprietary therapeutic T-cell vaccine immunogen combining HIV antigenic regions that are enriched in individuals with enhanced natural control of HIV infection, designed to direct the immune response to the most vulnerable parts of HIV and enable prolonged periods off antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected individuals. AELIX holds a worldwide exclusive license for development and commercialization of the HTI immunogen.
• AELIX-002 Clinical Program (HTI vaccine prime-boost) Phase I/IIa randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the HTI vaccine using a heterologous DNA.HTI / MVA.HTI / ChAdOx1.HTI prime-boost regimen in early-treated HIV-infected individuals. The trial demonstrated that 40% of vaccinated participants without beneficial HLA alleles remained off ART for 22+ weeks vs 8% in placebo, with 97% immunogenicity.
• AELIX-003 Clinical Program (HTI vaccine + vesatolimod combination) Phase IIa randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating the HTI vaccine in combination with Gilead's TLR-7 agonist vesatolimod (GS-9620) in early-treated HIV-infected individuals. Combination of HTI vaccine with a TLR7 agonist is designed to activate HIV expression and enhance vaccine-induced immune clearance of virus-infected cells.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% of vaccinated participants without beneficial HLA alleles remained off ART for 22+ weeks vs 8% in placebo group in AELIX-002 trial
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Gilead SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 October 2018Clinical research collaboration to evaluate AELIX's HTI T-cell vaccine in combination with Gilead's TLR7 agonist vesatolimod (GS-9620) in HIV-infected individuals. The collaboration enables the AELIX-003 clinical trial to investigate safety, tolerability, immunogenicity and efficacy of the combined regimen for HIV cure.
• IrsiCaixa AIDS Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAELIX is a spin-off of HIVACAT which includes IrsiCaixa. The company collaborates with IrsiCaixa for clinical trials and research. Dr. Bonaventura Clotet, Director of IrsiCaixa, is AELIX Co-Founder. IrsiCaixa is an international landmark for HIV/AIDS research.
• Fundació Lluita Contra la Sida (FLS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAELIX collaborates with FLS on clinical trials including AELIX-002. The NUVATERA project consortium includes FLS along with IrsiCaixa and AELIX.
• HIVACAR ConsortiumsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAELIX became a partner in HIVACAR Consortium in 2018. The project is funded by EU Horizon 2020 (Grant Agreement 731626) and focuses on HIV cure research.
• MISTRAL ConsortiumsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAELIX is an active partner in the MISTRAL project funded by EU Horizon 2020 (Grant Agreement 847943). The project explores gut microbiota in relation to HIV-1 with budget of 9.99 million EUR.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Vir Biotechnology: Clinical-stage immunology company with multiple HIV cure and functional cure programs, including broadly neutralizing antibodies and T-cell based approaches — directly comparable as an HIV cure-focused biotech with similar therapeutic vaccine and combination strategy ambitions.
• ABIVAX: French clinical-stage biotech developing novel therapeutics for HIV functional cure and inflammatory diseases — directly comparable as a European HIV cure-focused biotech pursuing immune-mediated viral control.
• Excision BioTherapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing CRISPR-based and immunologic therapies targeting HIV — directly comparable as a small-cap company pursuing an HIV cure/functional cure strategy with limited headcount and clinical-stage assets.
• American Gene Technologies: Clinical-stage biotech developing cell and gene therapies for HIV functional cure — comparable as a small HIV cure-focused company using novel immunologic approaches to achieve ART-free viral control.

Broad incumbents

• Gilead Sciences: Global HIV therapeutics market leader with broad antiretroviral portfolio and emerging cure research programs — comparable as both a key AELIX collaboration partner and the dominant incumbent defining the competitive landscape AELIX must ultimately challenge.
• Moderna: mRNA platform leader with active HIV vaccine programs (including Phase I mRNA HIV vaccines with IAVI) — comparable as a much larger biotech pursuing therapeutic HIV vaccines using a different (mRNA) vaccine technology platform.
• BioNTech: mRNA technology leader pursuing infectious disease vaccines including HIV vaccine programs — comparable as a major vaccine platform company exploring therapeutic HIV vaccines with substantially greater resources.
• Johnson & Johnson: Diversified pharmaceutical major with active HIV vaccine and cure research programs through Janssen, and an existing AELIX investor (JJDC) — comparable as a major pharma player in HIV vaccine research with broader capabilities.

Emerging players

• Arcturus Therapeutics: Clinical-stage mRNA and nucleic acid therapeutics company with vaccine programs — comparable as a smaller-cap platform biotech exploring novel vaccine delivery technologies relevant to therapeutic immunization.
• Immunocore: Clinical-stage biotech developing T-cell receptor-based therapeutics for infectious diseases and oncology — comparable as a T-cell-focused biotech with overlapping scientific approaches to directing immune responses against viral targets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AELIX_Th
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aelix-therapeutics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aelix Therapeutics