The U.S. government doled out a contract worth £4 million ($6.4 million) to the U.K.'s Health Protection Agency to develop a next-generation anthrax vaccine. The project will be valued at £14 million ($22.6 million) if all milestones are met.
The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, provided the contract. HPA will use its expertise in anthrax vaccine antigens with NanoBio's adjuvant technology that enables a vaccine to be delivered in fewer doses than are needed currently and sprayed up the nose with an intra-nasal device.
NanoBio, based in Ann Arbor, MI, focuses on developing vaccines based on its technology, dubbed NanoStat. Work on the anthrax vaccine will take place at HPA's facilities in Porton, Wiltshire in the U.K.
"We are delighted to achieve this award, which is recognition of our world-leading status in the field of anthrax vaccine research and development--we already manufacture anthrax vaccine for the U.K. and our expertise in this area is essential for the success of this program," Dr. Roger Hinton, principal investigator and head of development and production at HPA Porton, said in a statement.
Anthrax is a bacterial infection caused by the organism Bacillus anthracis. Attempts have been made to weaponize anthrax.
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