SRI International Awarded DARPA Subcontract to Accelerate Vaccine Manufacturing Process
MENLO PARK, Calif. – July 17, 2007 – SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that it will collaborate with Neugenesis Corporation, a biotechnology company developing complex protein biotherapeutics, to develop technologies for the rapid manufacturing of vaccines and drugs. The SRI subcontract is part of a major contract awarded to Neugenesis by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Having a rapid "just-in-time" production capability for vaccines and therapeutics will reduce the need for stockpiling and enhance the military's ability to respond to biological threats.
"We are eager to lead the program integration efforts of this important DARPA contract and to develop the analytical technologies needed to meet the program’s development goals," said Rae Lyn Burke, Ph.D., senior director, Center of Excellence for Infectious Disease and Biodefense at SRI International. "Our decades of experience in pharmaceutical development will be important assets in achieving the ambitious goals of the program."
The project will focus on the development of technology to accelerate recombinant protein manufacturing using Neugenesis’ fungal expression technology. SRI will be responsible for project integration management and for tracking product quality. Researchers from SRI's new Center for Advanced Drug Research (CADRE) in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia will evaluate and apply emerging techniques in protein characterization to perform protein biochemistry and mass spectrometry studies. State-of-the-art proteomics technologies will be used to identify and quantify proteins of interest rapidly.
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About SRI's Biosciences Division
SRI International’s Biosciences Division is an organization of approximately 200 people with all of the resources necessary to take biological and chemical research programs from "idea to IND"™ -- from initial discovery to investigational new drug applications to start human clinical trials. SRI Biosciences conducts basic research like a university, performs drug discovery and develops biologics like a biotechnology company, and is a contract research organization (CRO) that offers a full range of preclinical development and pharmaceutical sciences services. SRI Biosciences specializes in cancer, immunology, infectious disease, and neurosciences research.
To date, SRI has developed nine drugs internally that have entered clinical trials, with several more currently undergoing preclinical evaluation. Marketed examples of these drugs include Targretin® (bexarotene) and Halfan® (halofantrine). Additionally, working with government and industry partners, SRI has helped advance on the order of 150 drugs into clinical trials, and more than 10 drugs onto the market. Through collaborations with other divisions at SRI, Biosciences is also working at the interfaces of science to create technical platforms for the next generation of drug discovery and development in areas such as drug delivery, devices, diagnostics, and systems biology.
About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world’s leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs client-sponsored research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses, and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships, and creates spin-off companies.
