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Politics & Government

Congressman Rush Holt Visits VaxInnate in Cranbury; Applauds Contract for Modern Flu Vaccine

Rep. Holt (NJ-12) donned a lab coat and glasses and toured the Cedar Brook Drive lab where VaxInnate is incorporating efficient technology in vaccine development.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt paid a visit to the Cranbury-based VaxInnate Corporation this afternoon to herald the company on being a biotechnology front-runner with their development of the next generation of flu vaccines.

The five-year contract, which is worth up to $196 million, was awarded to VaxInnate by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose is to continue to fund the research and development to keep seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines effective. 

"New Jerseyans can be proud that groundbreaking scientific research and development is taking place here in central New Jersey,”  he said. 

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He added that the technology, which is patented and heavily protected intellectual property of VaxInnate, is highly effective at developing vaccines against a variety of things, whether that variety include a naturally occurring pandemic, or  bio-terrorism.  

VaxInnate's technology produces a highly immunogenic vaccine using a unique technology that allows it to produce hundreds of millions of vaccine doses in as little as three to four months, in a much smaller space.

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Scientists at VaxInnate said that should a pandemic  flu arise, the speed and the capacity of their technology would make it possible for the nation to get the first and last doses of vaccine needed by the nation in several months. 

This is a significantly shorter time period than the conventional means of producing flu vaccines in either eggs or cell cultures.

The process, Chief Scientific Officer Alan Shaw, Ph.D., said, is "standard molecular biology," which has been patented in stages, beginning in 2006. 

The idea combines the vaccine antigen with a potent immune stimulator, which convey significant speed, cost and capacity advantages. 

Holt toured the Cranbury facility with Thomas Hofstaetter, Ph.D., president and CEO of VaxInnate, as well as Shaw and others guests of BioNJ, asking questions of the laboratory employees and stopping to acknowledge several steps in the vaccine-creation process. 

Debbie Hart, president of BioNJ, saluted the congressman for his leadership in promoting innovation in the biotechnology industry. 

“This award is an excellent example of government support of economic development at its best, where technology, innovation and the economy advance together.  With access to capital a continuing challenge, both the State and federal government need to help fill that gap,” she added. 

According to VaxInnate, the BARDA contract initially provides funding of $118 million for a period of 36 months. VaxInnate will then have the option to extend the contract for another 24 months with an additional $78 million of funding, totaling $196 million.  Previous research and development of the flu vaccine at VaxInnate was financed without government spending. 

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