TFF Pharmaceuticals said that it has entered into a 3-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) for development of dry powder vaccines against alphaviruses such as Eastern equine encephalitis and against filoviruses such as Ebola and Marburg.
USAMRIID will conduct studies in rodent models to compare inhaled and/or intranasal formulations of the vaccines, which will be based on TFF’s thin film freezing technology, to “the traditional routes of administration.”
USAMRIID Viral Immunology Branch Chief John M. Dye commented, “Our warfighters – and our scientists – are frequently deployed to some of the world’s most environmentally hostile climates. Having biodefense countermeasures that are potentially more easily administered via a pulmonary or intranasal route, and are temperature stable, could be an important advantage in these types of environments.”
TFF Pharmaceuticals CEO Glenn Mattes said, “Biodefense threats and emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19 continue to be a major concern to our military and civilian populations. There is a critical unmet need for the development of more effective vaccines, therapeutics and drug formulations to meet this threat. We believe our Thin Film Freezing technology approach can produce efficacious biodefense and emerging disease countermeasure powder formulations that are highly suitable for the respiratory route of administration; highly absorbable and effectively distributed; and physiochemically stable for an extended period. This CRADA, with the world’s preeminent biodefense research organization, is another validation of Thin Film Freezing’s potential as an important, disruptive platform technology.”
Read the TFF Pharmaceuticals press release.
