WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The federal government announced three contracts worth up to $68 million yesterday to make three new vaccines against dengue fever and anthrax.
The contracts, to Maryland-based Emergent Biosolutions, privately held PaxVax Inc of San Diego and privately held Inviragen Inc of Fort Collins, Colorado, are meant to help the companies develop better vaccines using simpler technology, including needle-free systems.
They include work on a new dengue vaccine delivered by a needle-free device, an oral anthrax vaccine and improvements to an existing anthrax vaccine using an agent to stimulate the immune system, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said.
“Our goal is to improve vaccine delivery and the resulting immune response in a way that could be used to protect large numbers of patients,” Dr. Michael Kurilla of NIAID, one of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement.
Total funding of the three contracts could reach $68 million, “depending on the successful completion of defined project milestones,” the NIAID said.
