LES awarded Deals of Distinction™ in five industry sectors at the LES Annual Meeting Business Luncheon on October 20, 2025. The sectors included: High-Tech, Brands as a Business, Industry-University-Government Interface, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences. Now in its twenty-first year, the annual program recognizes companies that orchestrate the year’s most outstanding licensing and business deals in each sector. Key dealmakers were on hand to provide insights on their winning deals.

Dealmakers:  National Institutes of Health and Bavarian Nordic

Presented by Jennifer Mandina Wiss, Co-Chair, LES IUGI Sector, to Steven M. Ferguson, CLP, National Institutes of Health.

Why it won…

This licensing agreement led to the launch of Vimkunya®, the first single-dose vaccine against the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). It’s a disease that was first identified in the Masaai region of Tanzania and means “all bent up” in the native Makonde language. Typically presenting with acute symptoms that include severe joint pain, fever, rash, fatigue and headache. It was approved by the FDA on February 14, 2025, as the first virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine for this disease. It uses the virus-like particles to mimic CHIKV without the ability to infect cells, replicate or cause disease.  

In 2024, 620,000 cases of CHIKV and over 200 deaths were reported worldwide. It’s a mosquito-borne disease caused by the virus. As climate change continues to expand the reach of mosquito-borne illnesses, this vaccine underscores the importance of cutting-edge solutions to safeguard travelers and vulnerable populations.

“Whether you’re just starting or looking to elevate your dealmaking skills, this is an opportunity to build your capabilities—and your network—just in time for the Annual Meeting,” said Bojin.

IP and Licensing

The IP for this non-exclusive license consists of 15 issued U.S. patents and corresponding international patents related to the development and use of a VLP-based CHIKV vaccine. The licensed technology includes plasmids for generating recombinant virus-like particle-based CHIKV vaccines, as well as a production cell line required for the characterization, research, development, and manufacture of such vaccines. 

Over the past 20 years, the virus has emerged in several regions across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including many popular travel destinations, often resulting in large and unpredictable outbreaks. Since its discovery, CHIKV has been identified in more than 110 countries, with evidence of transmission confirmed in more than 50 countries over the past five years.

The NIH has played a role in the development of the vaccine through its research and clinical trials. They sponsored multiple clinical studies for the vaccine, including Phase II and Phase III trials, which helped gather data on its safety and immunogenicity. Bavarian Nordic is a leading global provider of travel vaccines and has collaborated with the NIH on vaccines for mpox and smallpox.

Steven M. Ferguson (NIH) accepts the award for the LES IUGI Deals of Distinction from Jennifer Wiss Mandina (LES).

Unique to this Deal

The FDA approval of Vimkunya also gave Bavarian Nordic a further financial boost. The company announced on June 18, 2025, that it had reached an agreement to sell the priority review voucher (PRV) it gained from Vimkunya’s approval to an unnamed buyer for $160 million. The FDA had awarded this PRV to the company under its Tropical Disease Program. 

Steven M. Ferguson said, “Bavarian Nordic obtained the Vimkunya vaccine project in 2023 as part of its acquisition of the Emergent BioSolutions travel health business for $270 million upfront. Emergent, in turn, had acquired the project as part of its 2018 acquisition of PaxVax. As PaxVax originally licensed the vaccine technology from the NIH, the NIH license agreement specifies that the NIH will also receive 20% of the proceeds from the PRV sale.

So it was not only a public health success story, but also a license success story.” View more information here.

LES Deal of Distinction Criteria

The Licensing Executives Society’s Deal of Distinction Award recognizes agreements that:

  • Solve business problems creatively
  • Feature novel licensing structures
  • Represent “seismic events” within their industry sector
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