Grant for Development of Botulinum Vaccine

A US$11 million grant is designed to speed the development of a manufacturing process for a safe and efficacious vaccine that will protect against all known forms of botulinum neurotoxins.

The grant, from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was awarded to the DynPort Vaccine Company LLC (DVC, Frederick, MD, USA), which plans to complete the project within five years. The grant funds development of two vaccines: a pentavalent vaccine to protect against neurotoxin serotypes A, B, C, E, and F; and a heptavalent vaccine that will include antigens designed to protect against serotypes D and G.

The University of Nebraska (Lincoln, USA), the University of Colorado (Denver, USA), HTD Biosystems Inc. (Hercules, SA, USA), and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID, Fort Detrick, MD) will team with DVC to provide research and manufacturing development capabilities. USAMRIID owns the intellectual property for the vaccine to be produced.

"Botulinum neurotoxin is generally recognized as the deadliest naturally occurring substance known and has been identified as a potential bioweapon,” said DVC president Terry Irgens. "There is an urgent need for a safe, efficacious vaccine that will protect against all seven known serotypes of the neurotoxin.





Related Links:
US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
DynPort