GenVec Receives Continued Funding For Vaccine Program
US - The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has executed the second option period under a three-year agreement with GenVec Inc to support the development of vaccines for the prevention of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
31 July 2008
2 minute read
GenVec is to receive up to $6.6 million to complete development activities under the option period.
This funding increases the total value of GenVec’s three-year agreement with the DHS from $17.5 million to $18.2 million.
Under the agreement, the DHS is responsible for conducting animal studies at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center; GenVec is responsible for the development, production, and regulatory approval of the vaccine.
The novel FMD vaccine approach was initially discovered by US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) scientists at Plum Island Animal Disease Center and currently uses GenVec’s proprietary adenovector technology and is manufactured on a proprietary GenVec cell line that is capable of producing antigens without the use of the highly contagious FMD virus.
Because the vaccine is produced without using live or killed virus materials, it can be safely produced in the US.
It is the first molecular-based FMD vaccine for cattle, and allows differentiation of injected animals from vaccinated animals, which is critical information in the event of an outbreak.
DHS’s Targeted Advanced Development (TAD) unit, USDA-ARS and GenVec will continue to collaborate on additional molecular-based FMD vaccines in the research and development pipeline.
“We appreciate the DHS’s continued commitment to this important effort. FMD has been identified as an important threat to our nation’s food supply. The goal of this program is the conditional licensure of a vaccine against FMD,” stated Douglas J. Swirsky, GenVec’s Chief Financial Officer.
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