$2.8m for ongoing Avant vaccine development

The Defense Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2005 passed by the US Congress recently provides $2.8m for the Defense Department's continued development of an oral combination vaccine to protect against anthrax and plague, a project being carried out by US biotech company Avant Immunotherapies.

The dedicated funding supports continued development of this advanced technology vaccine begun by Avant in January 2003, and the company expects this financial support to help fund the clinical development phase of this combination vaccine as well as pilot vaccine production at Avant's Fall River facility. Scientists are carrying out the vaccine development program at the company's headquarters in Needham, Massachusetts and at its research facility in Overland, Missouri.

Dr Una Ryan, president and ceo of Avant, said: 'The combination anthrax-plague vaccine is the most technologically advanced biodefence vaccine under development with federal government support. It also offers unique advantages compared with other vaccine approaches should a mass vaccination program become necessary.

'Unlike currently available or next generation injectable vaccines, which require multiple doses and take weeks or months to confer protection, Avant's oral anthrax-plague vaccine is designed to quickly confer protection with a single oral dose. Moreover, the room-temperature stability of the vaccines makes shipping, storage and distribution much easier and lower cost than vaccines requiring refrigeration to maintain their activity and stability.

'The successful development of this vaccine will make all Americans, both military personnel and civilians, safer from the threats posed by anthrax and plague.'