|
|
|
Ichor Medical Systems Awarded Contract to Further Development of Vaccine for Biodefense Pathogen. |
|
San Diego, CA -- Ichor Medical Systems (Ichor) of San Diego announced today that they have received a $2.2 million contract from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The contract will fund Phase I human clinical testing of a promising DNA vaccine candidate for Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) delivered using Ichor’s TriGridTM electroporation system.
The development of medical countermeasures for biodefense agents and emerging pathogens has been identified as a priority by DTRA and related government agencies. The VEEV pathogen is listed as a Category B agent by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and is considered an important biodefense risk in part due to its stability when aerosolized as well as its ability to rapidly incapacitate infected individuals.
In collaboration with researchers at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and with funding from another DTRA contract, Ichor has identified a DNA-based vaccine candidate for VEEV. When delivered by TriGridTM electroporation, the vaccine candidate demonstrated compelling safety and efficacy characteristics in nonhuman primates, including rapid induction of virus-neutralizing antibody responses that conferred protection from viral challenge.
“The Ichor/USAMRIID program is aligned with DTRA’s mission of developing biological countermeasures and will address a specific unmet medical need for a safe and effective VEEV vaccine,” stated Dr. Connie Schmaljohn, Senior Research Scientist at USAMRIID.
Bob Bernard, Ichor CEO, said, “We are pleased to continue our collaboration with USAMRIID in developing this and other biodefense vaccines. We anticipate the resulting human data will position the TriGridTM as a vaccine delivery platform for use in a number of biodefense applications as well as other infectious disease indications.”
About Ichor Medical Systems
Ichor Medical Systems’ TriGrid™ Delivery System is the first integrated and fully automated system for electroporation-mediated DNA administration in humans. Ichor, a privately-held biotech company based in San Diego, CA, is collaborating with partners on three continents in a wide range of studies to test the TriGrid as an enabling platform for delivery of DNA drugs and vaccines to treat diseases such as pandemic flu, hepatitis B, HIV, melanoma, Alzheimer’s disease, and others. The TriGrid™ device is also being tested by the U.S. military as an efficient means of delivering biodefense countermeasures. Ichor’scurrent research partners also include Delphi Genetics, FIT Biotech, Genexine, INSERM, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Leiden University Medical Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Pasteur Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, , the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), Profectus Biosciences, Scancell Ltd., the University of Georgia, University of Constance and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO). For further information, visit www.ichorms.com. For additional inquiries, please contact: May de las Alas, Ph.D. at mdelasalas@ichorms.com.
About USAMRIID
USAMRIID, located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Department of Defense's Biological Defense Research Program, and plays a key role in national defense and in infectious disease research. The Institute conducts basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in medical solutions (such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to protect the warfighter. While USAMRIID’s primary mission is focused on the military, its research often has applications that benefit society as a whole. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. For more information, visit www.usamriid.army.mil
[The information contained in this press release does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government and no official endorsement should be inferred.]
Source … |
|
|
No Comments have been Posted.
|
|
|
Please Login to Post a Comment.
|
|
|
Rating is available to Members only.
Please login or register to vote.
No Ratings have been Posted.
|
|
|
|
