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Biosecurity News in Brief
New Anthrax Vaccine with Improved Stability SoughtBy Michael Mair, June 16, 2006 On June 12, Avecia Biotechnology (Avecia) announced that it had received a $3.9 million grant from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop an anthrax vaccine with "improved stability."[1] The vaccine, Thraxine™, is comprised of recombinant protective antigen (rPA) adsorbed onto an alum adjuvant and is "designed to induce immunity to infection from inhaled anthrax in a three-dose treatment cycle over several weeks."[1] The program "aims to develop a version of Thraxine™ that can be stored, transported and used without the need for a conventional cold chain."[1] Such a vaccine formulation would "simplify storage, transport and prolong shelf life, which could also reduce the overall cost of large scale vaccine provision."[1] Avecia is collaborating on the project with Cambridge Biostability, Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (Dstl), Lyosolutions, and XstalBio. The program is expected to be completed by April 2008. References
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