Seattle BioMed Awarded $9.8 Million Grant from the National Institutes of Health to Develop Vaccine Against HIV/AIDS

SEATTLE, March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle BioMed today announced that it has received a seven year Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development (IPCAVD) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop a vaccine that would elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1. Seattle BioMed will lead a consortium comprised of the Rockefeller University, the University of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The investigators will receive $9.8 million over seven years to fund the initial phase of the project which will include the optimization and preclinical evaluation of two vaccine candidates. The second phase of the project will include the production of these vaccines according to current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and the evaluation of their safety and immunogenicity in a Phase I clinical trial.

"This grant brings together experts in vaccine-design, immunology and clinical evaluation of HIV/AIDS vaccines," said Alan Aderem, Ph.D., President, Seattle BioMed. "This multi-disciplinary collaboration will accelerate the delivery of a novel and effective vaccine to patients."  As the IPCAVD program principal investigator, Leonidas Stamatatos, Ph.D., Professor and Scientific Director, Seattle BioMed, will lead the initial phase of the project which includes the optimization of immunogens. Noah Sather, Ph.D., principal scientist Seattle BioMed, David Rawlings, M.D., Seattle Children's Research Institute, and Michel Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph. D., Rockefeller University will co-lead the pre-clinical evaluation of immunogens, while Julie McElrath, M.D., Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and HIV Vaccine Trials Network will oversee the clinical testing of immunogens.  

Dr. Stamatatos said, "The HIV-1 epidemic remains a significant threat to global health, with over 3 million AIDS-related deaths each year. While access to anti-retroviral therapies has increased, the best route of defeating the epidemic remains a universally effective HIV-1 vaccine. We look forward to continuing our collaborative research on broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1, which was among the top NIAID supported research advances of 2013 according to Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases."

ABOUT SEATTLE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Seattle BioMed is the largest independent, non-profit organization in the U.S. focused solely on infectious disease research. Our research is the foundation for new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics that benefit those who need our help most: the 14 million who will otherwise die each year from infectious diseases, including malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Founded in 1976, Seattle BioMed has more than 330 staff members. By partnering with key collaborators around the globe, we strive to make discoveries that will save lives sooner. For more information, visit www.seattlebiomed.org.

Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institutes of Health, under award number U19 AI109632-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Media Contacts:
David Schull or Andrea Flynn, Ph.D. 
Russo Partners
(212) 845-4271 
(646) 942-5631
[email protected] 
[email protected]

SOURCE Seattle BioMed