Avant Awarded Contract for Anthrax and Plague Vaccine

A US$8 million subcontract to develop an oral combination vaccine against anthrax and plague for the US Department of Defense has been announced by Avant Immunotherapeutics (Needham, MA, USA).

Avant will develop a rapid-acting oral anthrax and plague vaccine based on the company's modified live vaccine technology. This technology will use genetically modified bacteria as vectors to deliver plague and anthrax antigens to the immune system in a way that quickly stimulates protective immunity against these microbes, both of which have potential for use as bioweapons. The current anthrax vaccine administered to US troops is given in a series of injections over an 18-month period and produces considerable muscular soreness. In contrast, Avant's vaccine will require only a single oral dose, will confer immunity within days, and will cause minimal side effects, says the company.

Scientists at Avant created the vectoring technology as part of the company's development of orally administered bacterial vaccine candidates against cholera and typhoid fever, using genetic techniques to delete genes known to be essential to the virulence of the parent microorganism.

"This contract represents one of the first awards from a major US Department of Defense initiative to apply modern biotechnologic innovations to the development of vaccines that can offer rapid, effective protection from multiple biologic agents,” said Una S. Ryan, Ph.D., president and CEO of Avant.




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