Melioidosis might not be a well-known tropical disease, but the US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded funding to a fledgling vaccine formulation company VitriVax to develop a one-shot vaccine to protect against it.
With $29m in funding, the US DoD has specifically tasked VitriVax with converting a three-dose vaccine candidate that protects against Burkholderia pseudomallei (B. pseudomallei) – the causative pathogen of melioidosis –into a single-shot jab.
Go deeper with GlobalData
VitriVax will use its Atomic Layering Thermostable Antigen and Adjuvant (ALTA) thermostabilisation platform to develop the single shot.
The funding from the DoD to VitriVax is part of a wider research proposal to develop single-shot vaccines for melioidosis and glanders, a disease caused by B. mallei in certain animals. The funding is part of a five-year contract that was awarded to US-based VitriVax by the DoD’s United States Defence Threat Reduction Agency.
B. pseudomallei, a gram-negative pathogen commonly found in South-East Asia and northern Australia, is spread via the respiratory system and causes the highly infectious disease melioidosis. Currently, there are no vaccines that protect against melioidosis. Without treatment, 90% of people who contract the disease die. Whilst an antibiotic course can help survival chances, B. pseudomallei is resistant to many drugs.
There has also been long-existing concern that the bacterium could be used for nefarious purposes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists B. pseudomallei as a Category B agent in a classification of bioterrorism agents or diseases.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataVitriVax’s operations vice-president and principal investigator Kimberly D Erickson said: “We are excited about the opportunity to partner with DTRA and researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno, to bring our technology to a class of vaccines that will benefit both military personnel and the general population in regions where the disease is endemic.”
