Soligenix Inc. recently announced that it has formed a consortium to develop thermostable technology to advance its RiVax and other rapidly acting vaccines.

Soligenix received a $9.4 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support this work. As part of the initiative, Soligenix has executed an option agreement with the University of Colorado covering novel technology to develop vaccines that can maintain stability at elevated temperatures. This new technology will form the cornerstone of the company's research and development effort, which will involve the development of formulation and manufacturing processes for vaccines, including RiVax, that are stable at elevated temperatures.

"Each of our academic and industry consortium members brings impressive expertise to our vaccine stabilization program," said Dr. Robert N. Brey, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Soligenix. "This association has the potential to address the practical issue of long-term stability in stockpiled biodefense vaccines, using a technology basis that can ultimately be applied to other commercial vaccine products."

"Our progress with RiVax has been notable, and this grant award further validates the previous work and merits of our biodefense program," stated Christopher J. Schaber, Ph.D., president and CEO of Soligenix. "We look forward to working with our outstanding partners in this consortium to develop thermally stable biodefense vaccines to address two high-priority biothreats."