Centivax announced it has raised $37 million in an oversubscribed financing round to accelerate the Phase 2 clinical development of its universal influenza vaccine candidate and advance additional programs toward clinical readiness.
The financing was led by Structure Fund, with participation from Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., Sigmas Group, Kendall Capital Partners, and Patrick Collison, among others. The new funding builds on the company’s $45 million Series A completed in June 2025.
Centivax is developing Centi-Flu 01, a universal influenza vaccine designed to target conserved regions of the virus that are resistant to mutation. Unlike conventional seasonal flu vaccines, which are reformulated annually and vary in effectiveness between 10% and 60%, Centi-Flu 01 aims to provide broad, durable protection across multiple strains, including pandemic variants.
The company initiated Phase 1 clinical trials earlier this year, enrolling nearly all participants in its initial cohort. The ongoing study, expected to read out in 2026, is designed to assess both safety and efficacy across a wide panel of influenza strains. A 500-subject Phase 2 trial is planned to begin in early 2027 and will evaluate immune response breadth and comparative performance against existing vaccines.
Beyond influenza, the funding will support the advancement of four additional programs from Centivax’s universal immunity platform, including a cancer therapy, a malaria vaccine, a universal antivenom, and an Alzheimer’s preventative approach. These programs are being prepared for manufacturing and clinical readiness.
The company also plans to deploy a scalable, cell-free manufacturing process into GMP in 2026. This approach is expected to reduce production time and cost while supporting later-stage clinical trials and broader commercialization efforts.
Centivax, headquartered in South San Francisco, is focused on developing vaccines and therapies that provide universal protection across diverse disease targets, with applications spanning infectious diseases and chronic conditions.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our June 2025 Series A enabled us to rapidly initiate Phase 1 clinical studies this past February, with nearly all 180 Phase 1a participants already enrolled. This additional oversubscribed financing reflects the strength of the platform data, the Centivax team’s demonstrated ability to execute, and the momentum building around our mission. The new capital creates three timely strategic opportunities for Centivax: first, to advance Centi-Flu 01 seamlessly through the next major value inflection in Phase 2; second, to accelerate multiple follow-on universal immunity programs to clinical readiness; and third, to deploy our scalable manufacturing innovations, empowering Centivax to seize control of the means of production for Centi-Flu 01, current follow-on programs, and every future Centivax universal immunity program to emerge from the platform.”
Dr. Jacob Glanville, Founder And Chief Executive Officer, Centivax
“Centivax’s repeated ability to secure oversubscribed financing underscores both the strength of the programs and our leadership in a market where many bioscience companies have been forced to slow, consolidate, or pause amid a constrained funding environment. A rapid Phase 2 start strengthens our business development position by freeing us to move through the next set of value-driving milestones without delay. It also reduces the operational constraints associated with aligning clinical studies to flu season, enabling us to advance according to clinical readiness rather than the calendar.”
Stephanie Wisner, Co-Founder And Chief Business Officer, Centivax
