AstraZeneca buys partner Omniose for bacterial vaccine technology

AstraZeneca announced on November 10, 2026, that it has acquired Omniose, a preclinical biotechnology company based in St. Louis, making it a wholly owned subsidiary within AstraZeneca's Infectious Disease Unit. The acquisition follows a three-year exclusive research collaboration between the two companies that began with a vaccine-focused alliance in January 2024, according to Business Wire and Yahoo Finance.

The deal brings Omniose's proprietary bioconjugation platform, which the company says enables the precise enzymatic attachment of virtually any bacterial polysaccharide antigen to engineered carrier proteins within a single E. coli cell. Traditional conjugate vaccines require complex chemical processes to attach bacterial polysaccharides to carrier proteins. Omniose's approach allows these components to be produced and linked within a single cell, offering a potentially simpler and more precise manufacturing process that may produce higher-quality vaccines, according to the Business Wire release.

Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the transaction. Reuters reported that AstraZeneca is bolstering its vaccine pipeline with the U.S. biotech acquisition, while Fierce Biotech noted the purchase is for bacterial vaccine technology.

Christian Harding, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-founder of Omniose, said the milestone reflects the work of exceptional and complementary teams and that AstraZeneca has been a trusted partner for several years. Benjamin Moutier, Senior Vice President of Infectious Disease at AstraZeneca, said Omniose's bioconjugation platform represents a differentiated approach to engineering conjugate vaccines and strengthens the company's ability to develop novel vaccines against serious bacterial infections. Timothy Cooke, CEO of Omniose, said the acquisition is a great outcome for both organizations and that they share a vision for bringing the best science and talent together to address serious bacterial infections, which are increasingly complicated by antimicrobial resistance.