NIAID exercises option for RiVax

Soligenix, Inc., announced on Wednesday that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has exercised its option to accelerate the regulatory activities with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Soligenix’s heat stable ricin toxin vaccine RiVax.

The NIAID’s exercised option for the contract will provide Soligenix with an additional $660,000 in funding.

The contract has a total value of approximately $24.7 million, which would support the preclinical, manufacturing and clinical development activities necessary to advance heat stable RiVax with the FDA.

“The exercise of this option award reflects NIAID’s ongoing commitment to advance development of viable thermostabilization technologies that can be applied to vaccines that provide for enhanced stability and the ability to avoid the burdensome logistics of cold chain distribution,” Christopher J. Schaber, president and CEO of Soligenix, said. “It also highlights the government’s commitment to identification and development of countermeasures to protect both the public and, more likely, first responders, in the event of ricin exposure. We thank NIAID for its past and present support and look forward to accelerating interactions with the FDA as we advance RiVax development toward potential FDA licensure and government procurement.”

The goal of NIAID’s contract with Soligenix is to advance the development of Soligenix’s thermostabilization technology ThermoVax combined with the company’s ricin toxin vaccine RiVax, as well as other efforts to combat the effects of ricin exposure.