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news.US-based biotechnology firm Biothera has received a small business innovation research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue development of a fungal vaccine that may protect against infection from many different fungal species.
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The NIH’s $150,000 grant will support the continued preclinical research collaboration between the company and the California Institute for Medical Research (CIMR), which is focused on creating the new fungal vaccine.
Development includes combining a purified fungal carbohydrate and a protein antigen into a single vaccine.
During previous trials, the company created a vaccine by conjugating beta glucan particles with a nonfungal protein antigen.
The new funding from NIH will extend development to conjugating beta glucan particles with a specific protein antigen shared among different fungi, potentially providing the basis for a pan-fungal vaccine.
Biothera principal investigator Dr Don Cox said the company’s research group looks forward to the ongoing collaboration with scientists from the California Institute for Medical Research on the development of the vaccine.
"This vaccine application reflects the broad potential of Biothera’s beta glucan technologies," Cox said.