NanoBio Gets Up To $10M From Feds To Develop Flu Vaccine
ANN ARBOR (WWJ) -- NanoBio Corp. will get an initial contract of $5.5 million and up to $5 million more to devleop its nanoemulsion technology to improve the performance of flu vaccines.
The grant came from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.
The funding from NIAID will support the research and development of NanoVax-Panflu, which combines NanoBio's nanotech -- in medical terms, an "adjuvant," material added to a drug that improves its effect -- with a plant-based flu antigen.
NanoBio says this adjuvanted vaccine has the potential to provide enhanced protection against infection by eliciting immunity in the mucous membranes and throughout the body. Various research efforts have concluded that achieving mucosal immunity is critical for pathogens that enter the body across mucosal surfaces causing respiratory infections and sexually transmitted diseases.
"Our most recent studies at NanoBio have tested NE-adjuvanted vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and type 2 genital herpe, two viruses that enter the body via mucosal sites," said David Peralta, NanoBio CEO. "The results of these studies very clearly demonstrate the ability of the NE adjuvant to elicit mucosal immunity and the important role this type of immunity plays in protecting against disease."
The award includes a future option to test the NE adjuvant with an HIV vaccine. The vaccine will combine NanoBio's NE adjuvant with recombinant HIV virus-like particles. HIV is a global epidemic; the virus is primarily transmitted through sexual contact. A vaccine that elicits mucosal immunity has the potential to minimize transmission of HIV.
"With this contract support from NIAID, we will further our studies of the NE adjuvant and its important role in enhancing vaccines against challenging respiratory infections and sexually transmitted diseases," Peralta said. "We look forward to moving our NanoVax-Panflu vaccine towards the clinic and on the path to commercialization."
NanoBio's NanoStat technology employs a novel oil-in-water nanoemulsion that can incorporate, deliver and adjuvant multiple antigen types. The NE adjuvant is effective when administered via intranasal, intramuscular or subcutaneous vaccination. In recent studies, NanoBio has demonstrated that intranasal vaccination elicits robust systemic and mucosal immunity, thereby offering enhanced protection against respiratory infections and sexually transmitted diseases compared to intramuscular vaccination.
More at www.nanobio.com.
