The four-year grant will enable IDRI to evaluate adjuvant formulations for a TB vaccine and develop manufacturing processes for testing in clinical trials. In addition, IDRI plans to develop a library of adjuvants that can be combined to target specific immune pathways and enhance vaccine efficacy.
Rhea Coler, the grant's principal investigator at IDRI, said that traditional approaches to vaccine development have been "insufficient" in addressing TB and that new technologies are "urgently required" to combat the disease (IDRI release, 8/26). Coler added that the BCG TB vaccine was "developed in 1921 and fails to protect most people beyond childhood" (Puget Sound Business Journal, 8/27).
Steven Reed, founder and head of IDRI's research and development program, said the grant is "essential to harness the most promising technologies so we can deliver an effective TB vaccine as quickly as possible" (IDRI release, 8/26).