What is "corixa"

Corixa was a biotechnology/ pharmaceutical company based in Seattle, Washington involved in the development of immunotherapeutics to combat autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and cancer. It was founded in 1994. It operated a laboratory and production facility in Hamilton, Montana.

The name Corixa comes from the true bug (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera) genus Corixa (family Corixidae, Water boatman), described by Geoffroy, in 1762.

On 12 July 2005, the European pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline completed the acquisition of Corixa. GSK had formerly made use of the Corixa's MPL (Monophosphoryl lipid A, a derivative of the lipid A molecule), an adjuvant in some of their vaccines.

On 31 March 2006, Corixa's doors closed after over 11 years in business.