Cranbury-based Biotech Gets 1 Million from the Government
Listen to this articleU.S. Congressman Rush Holt is visiting Cranbury-based biotech firm VaxInnate today to announce that the company has been awarded $1 million in federal funds to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Defense on malaria vaccine research. The funding is part of the Defense Appropriations Act of 2007U.S. Congressman Rush Holt (12th-D) is visiting Cranbury-based biotech firm VaxInnate today to announce that the company has been awarded $1 million in federal funds to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Defense on malaria vaccine research. The funding is part of the Defense Appropriations Act of 2007.
The privately held company said the funding will support pre-clinical research on a new malaria vaccine that could be used by the U.S. military and by the half of the world”s population that lives in areas where they are exposed to the disease.
“The current egg-based method of vaccine development and production is outdated and unreliable. The groundbreaking R&D occurring in Cranbury holds real promise in improving the health of all Americans,” Holt said, referring to the companyÂs different method for manufacturing vaccines.
Alan Shaw, president and CEO of VaxInnate, said the collaboration will help the company show “how our technology platform can dramatically change the way we approach malaria vaccine development – with the potential to not only improve potency but also reduce costs and greatly expand the scale of production to better protect the military, and reach vast underserved populations.”
VaxInnate”s technology platform works by combining proteins of vaccine antigen and bacterial flagellin, which trigger immune responses in animals to malaria, human and avian influenza, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and other diseases.
