Novartis has bought the rights to AlphaVax's experimental vaccine for the cytomegalovirus at a price of $ 20 million. AlphaVax will be paid $20 million as upfront payment. The company would also get milestone payments and royalties.

The contract terms AlphaVax would carry the research and development of the vaccine till the early - stage human trials. After that the development, manufacture and marketing of the drug would be under the charge of Novartis. After the Phase II trials, Novartis would also have the permission to make an equity investment of 4 million shares.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a virus of the herpes family. It can attack the patients who already have a susceptible immune system for example newborns, AIDS patients or cancer patients. Novartis states that CMV infects about 86,000 newborns in The US and EU every year. Out of these 700 cases are fatal and 17,500 cause severe disability.

Novartis also declared that the vaccine would be the first of its kind to give protection against CMV.

The company revealed that it also has the rights of first negotiation for AlphaVax's respiratory synctial virus program. RSV causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia in kids below the age of one.