Scott Nicholas
The National Institutes of Health‘s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded a two-year, $491,000 grant to the Infectious Disease Research Institute to design and develop a new Zika vaccine candidate.
IDRI said Thursday it will work to develop platforms that users can utilize for rapid response to potential disease outbreaks.
“The recent development of vector independent RNA based delivery systems represents a practical platform for rapid and inexpensive development of new vaccine candidates,” said Steve Reed, IDRI founder, president and chief scientific officer.
Reed noted the grant will also help IDRI perform proof-of-concept studies for an RNA-based vaccine to be tested on other emerging infectious diseases.
IDRI offers adjuvants, analytical methods, diagnostics, drugs, manufacturing, pipeline, stability studies and vaccine products and conducts research on animal health, leishmaniasis, leprosy, tuberculosis and other diseases.
