SBIR-STTR Award

Development of Novel Brucella Vaccine Candidates
Award last edited on: 7/9/04

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NIAID
Total Award Amount
$100,000
Award Phase
1
Solicitation Topic Code
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Principal Investigator
Stacy E Ferguson

Company Information

Macrogenics Inc

9640 Medical Center Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
   (301) 251-5172
   info@macrogenics.com
   www.macrogenics.com
Location: Multiple
Congr. District: 08
County: Montgomery

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43AI056745-01A1
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase I year
2004
Phase I Amount
$100,000
The long-term objective of this work is to eliminate brucellosis as a biothreat. Brucella infection may occur through water, food sources and through exposure to infected animals. Brucella species induce abortions in domestic animals and severe, incapacitating illness in humans, with symptoms of undulating fever, night sweats, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss and arthritis. While human brucellosis can be treated through antibiotic regimens, symptoms of Brucellosis are flu-like and could lead to delayed diagnosis. Brucella remains a major source of human disease worldwide. It is estimated that as few as 10 bacteria can induce human infection via the respiratory tract. Natural or engineered genetic alteration of Brucella species could lead to higher fatality rates which, coupled with the extremely high infectivity of Brucella spores, could result in the development of more deadly bioweapons. To date, no vaccines have been approved for use in humans. Vaccination of domestic cattle with B. abortus strain RB51 has effectively eradicated the disease from domestic herds but is abortogenic to cows and has been implicated in human infection of livestock handlers. The prevalence of Brucella abortus infection among elk and bison populations of Yellowstone National Park has raised concerns about reintroduction of B. abortus into domestic cattle. Brucella abortus has recently been found in populations of feral pigs in South Carolina. To both eradicate the incidence of natural Brucella infection and eliminate the threat of Brucella as a bioweapon, we propose to 1) optimize the immunogenicity of several genetic vaccine candidates, isolated from a random genetic expression library, in a murine model and 2) test the ability of these candidates to protect mice from an aerosol model of Brucella infection

Thesaurus Terms:
Brucella abortus, immune response, vaccine development, vector vaccine active immunization, aerosol, disease /disorder model, genetic library, spore SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, biotechnology, bioterrorism /chemical warfare, laboratory mouse

Phase II

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase II year
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Phase II Amount
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