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news.Shares in Diversa Corporation climbed by almost 6% in pre-market trading after the company was awarded two biodefense contracts totaling $4.8 million from the US Department of Defense.
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The first US Department of Defense (DoD) contract, for $2.5 million, will support the second year of Diversa’s program for rapid antibody-based biological countermeasures (RAbBC). The second contract, for $2.3 million, will provide funding for the second year of Diversa’s program for enzyme-based active decontamination of chemical and biological agents (EBAD).
Under the RAbBC program, Diversa has been applying its proprietary high-throughput proteomics and antibody optimization technologies to identify important protein targets for new vaccines and antibody therapies and to create optimized antibodies to detect and eliminate anthrax infections.
Under the EBAD program, Diversa has been working in collaboration with Agentase LLC and Life Science Research Israel Ltd to develop an environmentally benign, enzyme-based system that is capable of decontaminating a broad spectrum of both chemical and biological agents. Product applications of any successfully developed system potentially include decontaminating sprays, solutions, foams, wound dressings, fabrics, and protective clothing.
“Together with our collaborators, we have made tremendous progress in the first year of our RAbBC and EBAD programs,” stated Dr Jay Short, Diversa’s president and CEO. “Our initial successes in protein identification, antibody optimization, and enzyme development have led to this significant follow-on funding of these programs, and we look forward to advancing the development of important new antibody- and enzyme-based diagnostic, therapeutic, and decontamination products.”