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news.In order to advance RiVax and other rapidly acting vaccines
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Soligenix, formerly known as Dor BioPharma, has formed a consortium to develop thermostable technology to advance RiVax and other rapidly acting vaccines. The company has received a $9.4m grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The company declares that the key component of the initiative is the formation of collaborative partnerships between industry and academic researchers from different disciplines.
In regard to that, Soligenix is expected to partner with academic institutions, including the University of Colorado, the University of Kansas, and the Tulane National Primate Research Center and the industry including SRI International, Health Research, Battelle Memorial Institute, Nanotherapeutics, and BioCon.
As part of the initiative, Soligenix has executed an option agreement with the University of Colorado. The agreement covers novel technology to develop vaccines that can maintain stability at elevated temperatures.
The agreement involves the development of formulation and manufacturing processes for vaccines, including RiVax. An additional goal will be the development of improved thermostable adjuvants expected to result in rapidly acting vaccines that can be given with fewer injections over shorter intervals.
Robert Brey, chief scientific officer of Soligenix, said: “Each of our academic and industry consortium members brings impressive expertise to our vaccine stabilisation program. This association has the potential to address the practical issue of long-term stability in stockpiled biodefense vaccines, using a technology basis that can ultimately be applied to other commercial vaccine products.”
Christopher Schaber, president and CEO of Soligenix, said: “Our progress with RiVax has been notable, and this grant award further validates the previous work and merits of our biodefense program. We look forward to working with our partners in this consortium to develop thermally stable biodefense vaccines to address two high-priority biothreats.”