SAIC-Frederick executed its first option period under its four-year contract with GenVec for influenza and HIV vaccines. GenVec will receive up to approximately $3.5 million for this second year of activities under the SAIC agreement.
The new funding increases the total value of the contract, which was originally $22 million. The deal was inked last year in support of the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the NIAID to develop new HIV and influenza vaccine candidates based on GenVec's adenovirus vector and production cell-line technologies. The vaccines will comprise genetic material supplied by VRC and adenoviral vectors supplied by GenVec.
GenVec and the NIAID VRC have partnered on HIV and influenza vaccine development for several years under CRADAs utilizing the company’s adenovector technology. Additionally, under a separate contract GenVec produced adenovector-based HIV vaccines that have been tested in approximately 1,400 subjects in sixteen NIAID-sponsored Phase I and Phase II trials.
The Naval Medical Research Center and Malaria Vaccine Initiative has also tapped GenVec’s adenovector technology for the development of malaria vaccine candidates. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Services and the Department of Homeland Security is leveraging GenVec’s expertise in the development of antivirals and vaccines to treat foot and mouth disease in large hoofed animals.