On Jun. 8, 2020, Intravacc and Versatope announced that they have signed a research service agreement to further develop a universal vaccine against influenza based on Intravacc’s innovative Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMV) technology. Both parties will collaborate to further advance the candidate vaccine through clinical development.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), influenza vaccines were overall 29% effective during the 2018–2019 influenza season due to the emergence of new, late season viral strains, resulting in 42.9 million illnesses, more than 16.5 million medical visits, 647,000 hospitalizations, and 61,200 deaths in the United States.

Therefore, globally there is a high medical and cost saving need for finding a more universal influenza vaccine.