Vaxin to develop anthrax vaccine patch
10/02/01
DAVE PARKS
News staff writer
Vaxin Inc. of Birmingham announced Monday that it has been awarded a grant to develop a vaccine patch needed to protect people from anthrax, a bacteria that can be transformed into a deadly biological weapon.
"The threat is really urgent," said Dr. De-chu Tang, chief science officer for Vaxin, a company that specializes in vaccines delivered with a patch system invented by Tang and patented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Vaxin has received a Small Business Innovation Research grant through the National Institutes of Health to help develop a new type of anthrax vaccine in conjunction with the Naval Research Center and Ohio State University, officials said. The grant was for less than $100,000, but such awards usually indicate more money will follow. The new vaccine would replace an old vaccine of questionable safety and effectiveness.
Tang said quick development of a new vaccine depends on government support. He said an application to start human trials on the patch system using an influenza vaccine has been stalled at the Food and Drug Administration for a year. The growing bioterrorism threat may speed up the process since a vaccine patch would be a great aid to civil defense, he said.
"A terrorist group could spray the anthrax spore in the air and cripple an entire city," Tang said. "It is invisible, odorless and spread by the wind. It would be difficult to produce enough of the current vaccine to vaccinate the entire country. "It now takes 18 months and six shots to immunize someone against anthrax."
But a patch system would work. It simplifies storage and delivery since there is no need for refrigeration. It also eliminates the need for medical personnel to administer shots.
"A patch could be applied by anyone, not just medical professionals, and would not require six doses to be effective," said Kent Van Kampen, president of Vaxin.
Anthrax is considered a prime germ warfare threat since it is relatively easy to obtain and reproduce into spores that can be incorporated into a weapon. It is also deadly unless victims are treated quickly with antibiotics. In recent years, the military has attempted to vaccinate troops against anthrax but encountered resistance because of fear over side effects.
In addition, some experts believe the current anthrax vaccine will work only against the cutaneous form of the disease, and not the type caused by inhalation of spores that would be used in germ warfare.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks "heightened the need" for a better anthrax vaccine, Van Kampen said. Vaxin is also developing topical vaccines for tetanus, dengue fever, breast cancer, malaria and influenza. |
