HONOLULU, HI--(Marketwire - August 11, 2009) - Hawaii Biotech, Inc. was awarded a three-year
$2.9 million SBIR phase II grant from the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Disease to continue development of a vaccine to protect healthy
individuals from Tick-Borne Encephalitis. This brings Hawaii Biotech's
current product array to three, including vaccine candidates for
dengue virus, West
Nile virus and Tick-Borne Encephalitis.
"This support will allow us to complete preclinical development and move
forward towards clinical testing of our Tick-Borne Encephalitis vaccine
candidate," stated Dr. Elliot Parks, CEO of Hawaii Biotech, Inc.
Hawaii Biotech, Inc., will use its proprietary recombinant protein
production platform to produce a subunit vaccine containing the Tick-Borne
Encephalitis envelope glycoprotein. Subunit vaccines provide a number of
benefits over virally based proteins. This grant will help to fund
optimization of protein expression, downstream processing, and vaccine
formulation. Funds will also be used to establish vaccine safety,
immunogenicity, and efficacy in appropriate animal models.
About Tick-borne encephalitis virus:
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), also known as spring-summer encephalitis, is
an important infectious disease in many parts of Europe, the former Soviet
Union, and Asia. TBE is caused by a virus, which is a member of the family
Flaviviridae that also includes dengue, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile,
and yellow fever viruses. The TBE virus is mainly transmitted through the
bite of an infected tick. TBE is most commonly recognized as a neurological
disease, but mild febrile forms of illnesses can also occur. Infection of
the central nervous system can result in severe neurological symptoms and,
in rare cases, death. Long-lasting or permanent neurological damage is a
consequence in 10-20 percent of infected patients. The number of cases
varies from year to year, but several thousand are reported annually with
historical under-reporting of this disease. For more information:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/Spb/mnpages/dispages/TBE.htm
About Hawaii Biotech, Inc.:
Hawaii Biotech is a privately held biotechnology company focused on the
research and development of prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases.
Hawaii Biotech has developed a proprietary protein production platform that
has application to the production of proteins for use as antigens in
infectious disease vaccines. Hawaii Biotech is developing vaccines for
dengue virus and West Nile virus and has a pipeline which includes vaccine
candidates for malaria, tick-borne encephalitis virus and influenza. Hawaii
Biotech recently successfully completed Phase I clinical trials of its West
Nile Virus vaccine. Hawaii Biotech, the oldest and largest biotech company
in Hawaii, is headquartered in Honolulu. For more information:
http://www.hibiotech.com.
