Iomai Wins Department of Defense Grant to Develop a Stable, Patch-Based Anthrax Vaccine
Tuesday April 8, 8:30 am ET
- Grant to Cover Formulation Work, Stability Characterization of Dry-Patch Vaccine -
GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Iomai Corporation (Nasdaq: IOMI - News) today announced it will receive a cost-reimbursement grant for up to $943,856 from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) to perform preclinical work on a patch-based version of the anthrax vaccine.
Under the 1-year grant, Iomai scientists will use vaccine antigen developed by UK-based Avecia Biologics Ltd., applying Iomai's technology in an effort to formulate a dry version of antigen that can be combined with an Iomai adjuvant on a needle-free patch. Iomai will then evaluate the stability of the patch to determine whether it can be stored and shipped at room temperature.
The current anthrax vaccine licensed in the United States is given as a six-shot regimen over an 18-month course and must be refrigerated, complicating stockpiling efforts. Government funding for a second-generation vaccine was discontinued after problems emerged with the stability of that vaccine.
"The military has a clear need for an effective anthrax vaccine that can be stockpiled and shipped at room temperature, and we believe that Iomai has the scientific know-how and the manufacturing ability to meet that need," said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Iomai. "This grant further validates the Iomai approach of formulating vaccines and immunostimulants on stable dry patches, and our work under this grant will dovetail nicely with our ongoing clinical and preclinical programs."
The work on the Department of Defense grant will focus on Iomai's technology for drying proteins such as the anthrax vaccine so that they can be administered via a patch the size of an adhesive bandage. That technology is at the core of the company's vaccines for travelers' diarrhea and influenza as well as its immunostimulant adjuvant patches for pandemic influenza and seasonal flu in the elderly.
The information contained in this press release does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
surf's up......crikey
