VitriVax receives $5M grant from Gates foundation

BOULDER — VitriVax Inc., a Boulder company that is developing vaccine technology, has received a $5 million, two-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The grant will help the company to further develop its proprietary single shot, thermostabilization vaccine technology, called Atomic Layering Thermostable Antigen and Adjuvant, or ALTA, and begin the development of pilot-scale manufacturing capacity, the company said in a press statement. As part of the grant, the company will study the ALTA mechanism of action using model antigens, such as those targeting HIV.

The technology, when perfected, will help protect against thermal and chemical degradation of the vaccine and enable controlled release, incorporating prime doses and additional booster doses in a single-shot administration.

“The project will focus on formulation development, preclinical studies, and the development of Good Manufacturing Practice protocols to support future regulatory submissions,” the company said.

“VitriVax, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is taking an important step forward in establishing its vaccine technology,” Romulo Colindres, CEO of VitriVax, said in a written statement. “We are honored by the foundation’s support of our efforts to advance equitable access to vaccines around the world.”The funding from the Gates foundation is the second infusion of cash this year. VitraVax received a $29 million five-year contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a single-injection, thermostable vaccine for melioidosis and glanders, serious and sometimes fatal infectious diseases.

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