Iomai, a company that discovers and develops vaccines and immune system stimulants, delivered via a novel, needle-free technology, announced it won the Department of Defense one-year grant to develop a stable, patch-based anthrax vaccine.

Iomai scientists plan to use vaccine antigen developed by UK-based Avecia Biologics Ltd. in an attempt to formulate a dry version of antigen that can be combined with an Iomai adjuvant on a needle-free patch. After such time, Iomai will evaluate the stability of the patch to conclude whether it can be stored and shipped at room temperature.

Currently the anthrax vaccine is administered as a six-shot regimen over an 18-month period and must be refrigerated, which complicates stockpiling efforts. The second-generation vaccine’s government funding was discontinued after issues emerged that showed the instability of the vaccine.

Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Iomai said, “The military has a clear need for an effective anthrax vaccine that can be stockpiled and shipped at room temperature, and we believe that Iomai has the scientific know-how and the manufacturing ability to meet that need. This grant further validates the Iomai approach of formulating vaccines and immunostimulants on stable dry patches, and our work under this grant will dovetail nicely with our ongoing clinical and preclinical programs.”

The work on the Department of Defense grant will look on Iomai’s technology for drying proteins such as the anthrax vaccine so that they can be given by a patch the size of an adhesive bandage. The technology is at the heart of the company’s vaccines for travelers’ diarrhea and influenza, including its immunostimulant adjuvant patches for pandemic influenza and seasonal flu in the elderly.

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