LOUISVILLE, Colo., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- RxKinetix Inc., a specialty
pharmaceutical company that uses its proprietary drug delivery technologies to
develop new medicinal products, today announced it is one of the 43 recipients
of a grant offer from the prestigious Grand Challenges in Global Health
initiative, a major international effort to achieve scientific breakthroughs
against diseases that kill millions of people each year in the world's poorest
countries. The grant will be used to develop thermostable vaccines with
improved stability at non-refrigerated temperatures.
The initiative is supported by a $450 million commitment from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as $27.1 million from the Wellcome Trust and
$4.5 million from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). A total
of 14 Grand Challenges were identified based on suggestions from more than
1000 scientists from around the world. The 14 Challenges were published in
Science in October 2003. Of the 1500 project ideas received, 43 were selected.
RxKinetix' grant was based on the Grand Challenge #2 entitled "Prepare
vaccines that do not require refrigeration".
"We have already demonstrated the benefit of using RxKinetix' thermostable
ProGelz(TM) as an excellent vehicle for vaccine delivery as part of our
ProJuvant(TM) vaccine program," said Harry Ross, M.D., Chairman and CEO. "The
unique properties of the ProGelz vehicle in which the vaccine will be
incorporated will not only stabilize the vaccine and, hence, extend its shelf
life but will also render it impervious to extreme fluctuations in
temperature. Both these attributes are of critical importance in breaking the
infamous 'cold-chain' currently necessary for the delivery of vaccines to
remote regions of the Developing World." Today, approximately 50% of vaccines
sent to developing countries are no longer active by the time they reach the
patient.
RxKinetix will use the grant to develop room temperature, stable vaccines
for measles and hepatitis B. The hepatitis B project will be a collaboration
with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention who are supplying
RxKinetix with hepatitis B vaccine.
RxKinetix is a specialty pharmaceutical company that uses its proprietary
drug delivery technologies to develop new medicinal products. These include
therapeutic antibodies, vaccines and growth factor formulations. The
company's proprietary drug delivery technologies have the potential to
substantially improve or enable existing compounds or products by enhancing
efficacy, creating sustained release and reduced dosing. More information
regarding RxKinetix is available at http://www.rxkinetix.com.
SOURCE RxKinetix Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.rxkinetix.com
CONTACT:
Harry Ross, M.D., Chairman and CEO of
RxKinetix Inc., +1-303-926-1900, hross@rxkinetix.com
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