VLP Therapeutics, LLC, a Gaithersburg-based biotechnology company focusing on the research and development of therapeutic and preventative vaccines and next generation antibody agents based upon a novel and proprietary vaccine technology, announced that it won a $2.4 million Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program Technology/Therapeutic Development Award #W81XWH-16-1-0330 from the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program to advance its malaria vaccine development program.
"We are very pleased to be selected as the recipient of the Department of Defense Grant," said Dr. Wataru Akahata, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of VLP. " Malaria is one of the most serious public health problems worldwide, with 3.3 billion people at risk for infection. It has also impacted the U.S. military, having caused more military causalities than enemy fire in all 20th century combats. However, there is currently no FDA-approved vaccine against malaria. We have developed a novel malaria vaccine candidate VLPM01, which targets the pre-erythrocytic stage of malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and has shown promising results in the preclinical studies. This grant furthers our commitment to developing novel and innovative vaccines for diseases that currently lack effective treatments and contributing to the improvement of public health" Dr. Akahata continued.
About VLP Therapeutics
VLP was established in 2012 by a group of seasoned entrepreneurs based upon a novel, proprietary vaccine technology discovered by its co-founder Dr. Akahata. Its vision is to combat the 21st century global public health problems through revolutionary i-?VLP Technology, and the mission is to develop innovative medical treatment which transforms traditional vaccine and targeted antibody therapies to address global unmet medical needs. VLP is currently developing preventative and therapeutic vaccines as well as next generation of targeted antibody agents to treat cancer, infectious diseases, auto-immune diseases and neurological diseases.
For more information, please visit www.vlptherapeutics.com.
