Texas foundation wins contract to assist in fight against bioterrorism
Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research receives first installment of $456,216 of a $2.2 million contract to do research on Ebola and Marburg viruses, which could be used as potential bioterror weapons
Ebola's spread, symptoms // Source: nlm.nih.gov
Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research has won a significant contract with the Dutch pharmaceutical firm Crucell to test a new vaccine against the Ebola and Marburg viruses — which could be used as potential bioterror weapons.
The Ebola and Marburg viruses are capable of causing hemorrhagic fever, a severe and often-fatal disease in humans. Infection is characterized by high fever and massive internal bleeding that causes death in 50 percent to 80 percent of all reported cases. Outbreaks typically occur in tropical Africa.
Since scientists first recognized the Ebola virus, some 2,200 cases including more than 1,500 deaths have been reported. Since the Marburg virus was discovered, more than 440 cases have been reported resulting in 360 fatalities.
San Antonio Business Journal reports that the initial contract is for $456,216. The biomedical research organization could win additional subcontracts worth $2.2 million.
Jean Patterson, chairwoman of the Department of Virology and Immunology at the foundation, will test the immunogenicity and efficacy of what is called a multivalent vaccine against five different strains of the viruses on animal models. The foundation’s high-level biocontainment facilities will be used to study the vaccines throughout 2010.
Crucell’s vaccine was developed by inserting genetic material from the virus into a vehicle called a vector, which then delivers the material directly into the immune system. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Crucell a $30 million contract to develop the vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list Ebola and Marburg on its “category A” list of bioterrorism agents, along with smallpox and anthrax, because of the high disease mortality rates and lack of any vaccine or therapy.
The Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research employs scientists that are working with researchers and institutions around the world to fight cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, psychiatric disorders, problems of pregnancy, AIDS, hepatitis, malaria, parasitic infections, and other infectious diseases.
