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news.Rhode Island biotech firm EpiVax Inc has been awarded a biodefense phase I small business innovation research (SBIR) grant by the National Institutes of Health for developing a genome-derived smallpox vaccine.
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The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)/ National Institutes of Health (NIH) award is for $993,771 and will be used to screen the genomes of variola (smallpox) and vaccinia (cowpox) for common elements, also known as epitopes that drive protective immunity. However, EpiVax researchers will not be using the actual smallpox virus in conducting their research.
Having successfully proven that EpiVax can accurately identify epitopes directly from genome data using proprietary bioinformatics tools, EpiVax will now have two years to prove these epitopes can be used to make a safe and effective smallpox vaccine.
EpiVax specializes in developing vaccines based on filtering the genome sequence, and as a result, does not need to handle dangerous pathogens in its vaccine development programs. This new vaccine will be developed using molecular biology techniques, and will not involve working with the actual smallpox virus.
“What we learn from this project we plan to apply to the development of better vaccines for a range of infectious diseases, including avian flu” said Dr Anne De Groot, president and CEO of EpiVax.
In September 2004, EpiVax was awarded a similar biodefense grant of $859,773 to develop a novel vaccine for Tularemia, an agent that could also be used as a bioterrorism agent.