Emmanuel Hanon joins UK-based start-up Vicebio as chief executive officer

After 20 years of service at GSK, and leading global vaccines R&D for the last seven, Emmanuel Hanon left last year for a wellness company with a gut microbiome focus called Viome.

Vicebio, a medicxi-backed biotech, has announced the appointment of Emmanuel Hanon as its new chief executive officer. Having served for 20 years at GSK, Hanon will support the company in its ambitions to create a vaccine to tackle respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Hanon is a virologist and immunologist and has made vital contributions to next-generation adjuvants and their involvement in vaccines for malaria, pandemic influenza and shingles.

Vicebio is focused on producing the second generation of a molecular clamp technology that was developed at the University of Queensland in Australia. The technology can balance and lock in viral surface proteins, enabling the proteins and vaccine ingredients to be transformed into a ‘prefusion’ conformation. As a result, this method can enable the company to develop liquid. vaccines with a long shelf life.

Commenting on his appointment, Hanon (pictured) said: "I am delighted to join Vicebio as we pursue this novel approach to vaccine development, targeting life-threatening respiratory viruses. I am impressed and grateful for the technology development and clinical data already generated by the UQ research team to advance the technology platform and am honoured to be taking their invention forward.

“I am truly excited about our molecular clamp technology, which is able to lock viral surface proteins into the optimal conformation with high immunogenicity, stability and manufacturing productivity, all crucial characteristics for vaccines that are difficult to obtain and to combine. With a strong team in place and a clinically proven technology, Vicebio has the potential to materially improve the options available to patients around the world."

Giovanni Mariggi, chairman of Vicebio and partner at medicxi, said: "We are proud of the progress to date and thankful for the fantastic work done by UQ during our collaboration since the creation of Vicebio, allowing us to attract Emmanuel, a highly respected leader in the industry and in vaccine development. Medicxi is dedicated to implementing a strategy focused on backing world-leading founders and technologies to deliver meaningful therapies, and looks forward to supporting Vicebio's contribution to creating the next generation of vaccines."