VLP Biotech Awarded Subcontract by Leidos to develop Malaria Vaccine

Press Release

VLP Biotech, Inc., announces the award of a subcontract from Leidos (formerly known as Science Applications International Corporation), for the purpose of developing efficient and cost effective epitope based malaria vaccine candidates against P. falciparum. VLP Biotech has a virus-like particle (VLP) platform based on the woodchuck hepatitis virus core antigen (WHcAg). Under this subcontract, VLP Biotech will implement a series of research and development projects directed by Leidos to support the USAID Malaria Vaccine Development Program's (MVDP) continued effort to develop a highly efficacious, cost-effective malaria vaccine.

The subcontract is funded from Leidos' single award contract from USAID in which Leidos will provide vaccine evaluations in the preclinical, clinical and field stages of development. Malaria continues to be a major public health problem in many parts of the developing world. Thus, development of a malaria vaccine with improved efficacy, and duration over current vaccines in development, would be an important additional tool in battling this disease. Leidos provides USAID a virtual pharma approach to vaccine development, in that they are agnostic to any single technology or laboratory. With VLP Biotech, Leidos seeks to build on their exciting published results, in which sterile immunity to sporozoite challenge was achieved (http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0124856).

About VLP Biotech, Inc.
VLP Biotech, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company that leverages its patented virus like particle platform to develop vaccines against infectious diseases of high un-met need.

Images courtesy of Princeton University & National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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