Centivax, a South San Francisco-based biotechnology company, has secured significant funding to advance its universal influenza vaccine platform toward human trials. The company raised $45 million in an oversubscribed Series A round led by Future Ventures, while also receiving up to $5 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to support clinical development of its pan-influenza mRNA vaccine candidate, Centi-flu.
Revolutionary Approach to Vaccine Development
Unlike traditional influenza vaccines that target surface spike proteins vulnerable to mutations, Centivax employs "epitope focusing" technology that uses computational immunology to direct immune responses against conserved viral regions that resist change. This approach targets what researchers describe as the virus's "Achilles' Heel" sites, potentially generating immunity that persists even as other viral regions mutate.
"While vaccines are incredibly successful in protecting against slowly mutating viruses, such as Polio and Tetanus, for fast-evolving pathogens—which may have pandemic potential—we have often found ourselves in a vulnerable, real-life game of 'whack-a-mole', constantly playing catch-up knocking back the newly emerging variants," says Dr. Kent Kester, Executive Director of Vaccine Research and Development at CEPI.
Promising Preclinical Results
Preclinical studies of Centi-flu have demonstrated broad immunity spanning over a century of influenza strains, dating back to the 1918 pandemic flu. The vaccine showed protection against currently circulating H5N1 strains with pandemic potential, as well as large panels of variants not included in the vaccine formulation itself. Testing was conducted in ferrets, pigs, mice, and human immune organoids.
"We're not talking about incremental improvements here," notes a veteran biotech analyst. "If successful, this technology wouldn't just compete in the existing market—it would fundamentally restructure it."
Leadership and Strategic Partnerships
Centivax has assembled a leadership team with extensive vaccine development experience. CEO Dr. Jacob Glanville previously co-founded Distributed Bio and worked at Pfizer. The company's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jerald Sadoff, led clinical approval of major vaccines including Gardasil, Jcovden, Pedvax, Zostavax, Rotateq, ProQuad, VAQTA, Dukoral, Zabdeno, Hexavac, and Malara RTS,S/AS01 at companies including Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and WRAIR.
Dr. Emilio Emini, who previously led vaccine research at Pfizer and Merck before joining the Gates Institute, has joined Centivax's board of directors.
Market Opportunity and Competitive Landscape
The global influenza vaccine market, valued at approximately $8.37 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $18.02 billion by 2034, representing a compound annual growth rate of nearly 8%. This growth is driven partly by ongoing concerns about pandemic threats, with government data showing 70 U.S. human H5N1 cases and one fatality, prompting the USDA to stockpile 10 million doses of egg-based H5 vaccine.
The competitive landscape includes pharmaceutical giants pursuing different approaches. Moderna reported positive Phase III results for its combined COVID-19/influenza mRNA vaccine, with regulatory filings planned for late 2025. GSK has invested heavily through a €1.4 billion licensing deal with CureVac to develop mRNA vaccines targeting flu, COVID-19, and avian strains.
Funding and Development Timeline
CEPI's funding will specifically support safety and toxicity studies for Centi-flu and manufacturing of clinical trial materials in preparation for a Phase I study launching later this year. The investment will also fund the vaccine's Investigational New Drug application, required for human testing in the United States.
The company has received $24 million in non-dilutive grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CEPI, NIH, and U.S. military programs, positioning it to advance rapidly toward human trials within eight months.
Broader Platform Potential
Beyond influenza, the epitope focusing platform could potentially create vaccines targeting entire viral families. Future applications might include broad-spectrum vaccines against filoviruses (including Ebola and Marburg), coronaviruses, and other rapidly mutating pathogens.
"In theory, such a tool would become an essential weapon when battling new outbreaks," says Dr. Kester. "If a broad-spectrum vaccine protects against, say, multiple Filoviruses or Coronaviruses, then it shouldn't matter which virus from that family emerges next."
Steve Jurvetson of Future Ventures highlighted the transformative potential: "Centivax's approach could fundamentally change antiviral medicine," pointing to the consistent induction of universal immunity across multiple species in preclinical studies.
Investment Considerations
Assuming the $45 million raise represents approximately 25% of the company, Centivax's post-money valuation sits around $180 million. Comparable deals suggest a potential exit value between $1.2-1.6 billion if Phase II trials demonstrate 65% vaccine efficacy, representing a 6-9x return on invested capital.
However, significant challenges remain, including translational risk from animal models to human outcomes and manufacturing complexity for epitope-focused vaccines requiring sophisticated protein engineering and stability optimization.
"We are proud to partner with CEPI to advance broad-spectrum vaccines against rapidly mutating pathogens," says Dr. Glanville. "Broad-spectrum vaccines offer a path to ending the pandemic era—not only for influenza, but for a wide range of rapidly evolving infectious diseases."
