GLEN BURNIE, Md., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, MD, has entered into an agreement with Cyto Pulse Sciences Inc. of Glen Burnie, MD to cooperate on research and development of Marburg virus DNA vaccines.
Marburg hemorrhagic fever is a rare but severe fever which affects both humans and non-human primates. Marburg is on the US Category A list for Biodefense threats. Marburg virus was first recognized when outbreaks occurred simultaneously in laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, and in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The four species of Ebola virus are the only other known members of the Filovirus family. Recently there was a large outbreak of Marburg in Angola. As of 5 June, 399 people were infected by the Marburg virus and 355 of those died (Rampton, 2005).
The agreement is for a three-year project and was signed in June, 2005. USAMRIID and Cyto Pulse Sciences have the objective of demonstrating that the combination of Cyto Pulse's improved Easy Vax (TM) DNA vaccine delivery system and USAMIIRD's Marburg plasmids make an effective vaccine.
The Easy Vax DNA vaccine delivery system uses an array of hundreds of small needles, each one coated with the DNA vaccine. An electric field allows the DNA to enter immune cells in the skin, specifically the dendritic cells involved in immune system response.
Cyto Pulse Sciences, Inc. is a medical device and treatment development company offering a line of medical equipment for laboratory research and clinical therapeutic applications. The company was founded in 1996 with the goal of developing clinical systems employing electric fields to create gene therapy and immunotherapeutic treatments unattainable by other delivery methods. Its devices enable cellular material transfers and fusion with a degree of safety, repeatability and efficiency suitable for clinical use and for laboratory research in gene therapy, immunotherapy, and hybridoma production.
USAMRIID, located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program, and plays a key role in national defense and in infectious disease research. The Institute's mission is to conduct basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in medical solutions (such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to protect the warfighter. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
The information contained in this press release does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government and no official endorsement should be inferred.
Additional information on Cyto Pulse Sciences, Inc. is available at the company's website, http://www.cytopulse.com.
Cyto Pulse Sciences, Inc.CONTACT: Tim Hurd of Cyto Pulse Sciences, Inc., +1-410-787-1890
Web site: http://www.cytopulse.com//