Donate to Science & Enterprise

S&E on Mastodon

S&E on LinkedIn

S&E on Flipboard

Please share Science & Enterprise

Vaccine Combo Produces Ricin, Anthrax Antibodies

Anthrax spores (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

Anthrax spores (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

29 December 2014.  Tests of a vaccine to prevent ricin and anthrax poisoning shows it produces long-lasting antibodies against both toxins, making a single vaccine against both bioterror agents more feasible. Results of a study by biotechnology company Soligenix Inc. in Princeton, New Jersey are reported in the January 2015 issue of the journal Vaccine (paid subscription required).

Soligenix develops therapies and vaccines with engineered proteins, including vaccines to prevent contracting diseases caused by biological agents. Among vaccines in the company’s pipeline are RiVax to protect against illness from ricin exposure and VeloThrax for anthrax protection. The company’s technology includes processes to produce vaccines in freeze-dried form, making them easier and less expensive to store and distribute than conventional methods requiring continuous refrigeration through the supply chain.

While both ricin and anthrax are considered bioterror threats, they come from very different sources. Ricin is a naturally-occurring substance found in castor beans. Because it is easily produced and stable, ricin can be made into powder or pellets, dissolved in water, and sprayed as a mist. In 2013, ricin-laced letters were sent to the President and members of the U.S. Senate, resulting in an FBI investigation and arrests.

Anthrax is an infectious disease from Bacillus anthracis bacteria, found in soil and in its natural form can infect farm and wild animals. Infections from this natural source of anthrax are rare among humans, and found most often among people working with infected animals. When purified and made into a fine powder or aerosol, however, it can be distributed and spread easily through the air. Letters with anthrax powder sent through the mail in 2001 caused 22 people to become ill, including 12 mail handlers, leading to 5 deaths.

The journal article reports on a study by Soligenix, with colleagues from New York State Department of Health and University at Albany in New York, that evaluated a vaccine formulated with engineered proteins used in the company’s RiVax and VeloThrax. The researchers found the combination vaccine produced antibodies in lab mice to protect against both ricin and anthrax. In addition, mice given the combination vaccine were protected against disease when subsequently exposed to both ricin and the anthrax toxin for as long as 6 months after 2 immunizations of the combination vaccine.

Research by the company for a combination vaccine is funded by a $9.4 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of National Institutes of Health. “The demonstration of simultaneous immunity to ricin and anthrax toxin is a step towards vaccines that can be used in the event of a national emergency,” says Christopher Schaber, Soligenix’s president and CEO.

Read more:

*     *     *

Comments are closed.