Corgenix Medical Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: CONX), a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, and Tulane University, today announced a major extension of the collaborative effort to combat viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), an effort that will generate an additional $800,000 in contract revenue for Corgenix over the life of the contract.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year contract totaling $15,224,927 to Tulane University for the expanded study. Collaborating with Corgenix and Tulane in this contract are The Scripps Research Institute, the University of California at San Diego, Boston University, the Broad Institute, Harvard University, Autoimmune Technologies, LLC, Vybion, Inc. and various partners in West Africa.
"This study will result in a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of antibody detection and antibody mediated neutralization of Lassa virus," said James Robinson, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics at the Tulane University School of Medicine and Principle Investigator of the program. "This research has significant implications for the next generation of antibody based therapeutics against viral hemorrhagic fevers."
Dr. Robinson stated further, "We have assembled a very strong and diverse group of institutions to collaborate on this project. Our goal is to elucidate the role of humoral immunity in protection or pathogenesis of Lassa fever. We will derive a diverse set of monoclonal antibodies from patients infected with Lassa virus, which causes Lassa fever. These human antibodies will be evaluated for their ability to protect from the severe consequences of the disease, and could play a role in treatment or prevention of this illness in areas of West Africa where Lassa fever is common."
This is the third major award given to Tulane for Lassa virus research. Under the original two grants awarded in 2005 and 2009, the group developed and patented new recombinant proteins for Lassa virus and developed several viral detection products that have been deployed in Africa for clinical testing where most VHFs are endemic.
"We are extremely pleased to be part of this expanded collaboration and to have received the NIH contract," said Douglass Simpson, Corgenix President and CEO. "Building on the previous two grants for development of state-of-the-art diagnostic tests on multiple delivery platforms, this new contract will enable Tulane and the other collaborators to probe deeper into the mechanisms of the virus, which can ultimately lead to prevention of the disease."
"This important research will save lives and help prevent this deadly disease. Boston University School of Medicine is pleased to be collaborating with such an esteemed group of researchers," said Thomas Geisbert, Ph.D., Associate Director of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories Institute at Boston University.